Balcony neighbor horror stories

[copnlpn2]

I have hardly ever seen anyone on the balcony's near ours..

 

 

This has always amazed me! I've had balconies on all but 3 cruises and rarely see anyone on any balcony...nearby or farther along/up/down the ship. I can't imagine paying the price for a balcony and never, ever use it.

 

Makes me wonder where all the people are who complain about smelling smoke on their balconies...

 

Those folks I did (rarely) encounter on nearby balconies were very tolerant of my smoking...I spend a lot of time on my balcony, but only light up a single cigarette every few hours or so, and I always try to do so when my neighbors are not on their balcony.

 

The only time I really had a problem was when my aft balcony neighbors allowed their little children to climb all over the railing of their balcony (one deck below mine)...I couldn't relax because I was so worried one of those youngsters would fall and get hurt. Seemed like I was the only one worrying, though.

[Tucker in Texas]

Depending which ship you are on. Not all cruise lines prohibit smoking on their balconies. If that cigar smoker was in fact smoking in a non smoking area , you should have reported him.

 

I was amazed we had 12 posts before the smoking came up and, even then, it was a minimal complaint. Of course, it has now escalated to a major one.

 

As for the lights, on a couple of our cruises our balcony light "did not work." Didn't bother me that much so I didn't follow up on it. I found out later that it was "disabled" because it caused a glare on the bridge at night causing a safety issue when it was on. The last morning, I went out on the balcony after we had docked to see the light on. I guess when I decided it was busted, I didn't switch it off.

 

Tucker in Texas

[Luvmesomeme]

Thank you all for your responses. I really don't anticipate any problems. I am a social person but also like my solitude. I am not a smoker and really hope that I do not have a chain smoker on either side. I will not let this ruin my trip though. I think I would struggle with noisey neighbors more. As far as nosy neighbors, I would appreciate not having anyone join in on my conversations with my husband. I will respect my neighbor's privacy and allow them the enjoyment of their balcony and hope they will extend to me the same courtesy.

[foxgoodrich]

On balcony lights...the only time we ever used our light was on Voyager out of Nola last Feb on night 1. The trip down the Mississippi to the gulf takes about 7-8 hours, and we sat on the balcony all night reading our books, sipping wine, and watching the action on the river and the riverbank. The balcony light was enough to read by, but not so bright that it ruined our view so it didn't occur to me that our light might impact others. Now I feel kinda bad...:(

 

BUT I have heard you! I won't do that again...and I can sincerely promise this because DH and I now have Kindles (the backlit ones) so in the future no balcony light will be necessary to enjoy a book on the balcony at night.:p

Judy

[PH8]

This has always amazed me! I've had balconies on all but 3 cruises and rarely see anyone on any balcony...nearby or farther along/up/down the ship. I can't imagine paying the price for a balcony and never, ever use it.

 

Makes me wonder where all the people are who complain about smelling smoke on their balconies...

 

Those folks I did (rarely) encounter on nearby balconies were very tolerant of my smoking...I spend a lot of time on my balcony, but only light up a single cigarette every few hours or so, and I always try to do so when my neighbors are not on their balcony.

 

The only time I really had a problem was when my aft balcony neighbors allowed their little children to climb all over the railing of their balcony (one deck below mine)...I couldn't relax because I was so worried one of those youngsters would fall and get hurt. Seemed like I was the only one worrying, though.

Just to prove to those on here,that I am not against smoking on the balcony(except for cigars).....Cindy and I cruise together sometimes and she is a smoker...doesn't stop me from going on the balcony when she smokes..

[deedeetoo]

I'm surprised so many people are upset about the lights. I never thought about that. One of the things I do is read at night on the balcony after the others have gone to bed. It never occurred to me that this would bother people. Now that I know about it, though, I'm not sure I would change what I'm doing. I have just as much right to read on my balcony as others have to sit and look at the stars. I don't leave the light on all night. I do turn it off when I go to bed.

[14Terry]

So far, we've never had any issues.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[MAHA]

Most of the time we have never had a problem with the balconies near us. We have smelled the occasional smoker from nearby balconies, but nothing really much until our last cruise on Enchanment. We had chain smokers on the balcony next to us. Considering we were in Bermuda for almost 3 days, there was no air movement. We smelled them and heard them throughout the day and evening. They left their ashtray on the balcony and it always seemed full. It really smelled. They would be out there coughig up a storm while smoking. Some people don't get how bad their smoking has affected their health. I am a former nurse and hearing their coughs made me think how bad the damage to their lungs must have been.

[goneclear]

I'm surprised so many people are upset about the lights. I never thought about that. One of the things I do is read at night on the balcony after the others have gone to bed. It never occurred to me that this would bother people. Now that I know about it, though, I'm not sure I would change what I'm doing. I have just as much right to read on my balcony as others have to sit and look at the stars. I don't leave the light on all night. I do turn it off when I go to bed.

 

That's what your balcony light is there for. To use it when you need to. It's your balcony enjoy it however you want once you are not breaking any rules .

[AngieD]

I've had issues every time we've had a balcony ranging from smokers upwind (which I hate- I'm paying for fresh air not second hand smoke) to the couple who had sex on their balcony every day even after I got up the nerve to let them know we could hear them. :eek: From intolerably noisy kids (and adults) to neighbors who shoved their dirty plates and glasses under the divider into our balcony. I thought a balcony would be a haven, but I much prefer a window room where I have complete priavacy. I would never buy another one if it weren't for my husband. He's out there every morning at 6:00 a.m. with his coffee. The only good thing I have to say is that it is nice to be out there for sunrises and sunsets.

 

16 cruises, the last half of which were balconies, spread out between Holland America, Celebrity, and Carnival.

 

I hope your special splurge is wonderful.

[DT1304]

I have only been on 2 cruises and had a balcony both times.

 

The first was a South Pacific cruise and it was always hot. I loved just hanging out on the balcony having a drink and watch the world go by. What I could not understand, is that no-one else seemed to want to do this. I hardly ever saw any neighbours enjoying their balcony.

 

On my recent Alaska sailing I used my balcony a lot too. In terms of noise, there was none, but I love music, and like to sit and listen to music on my balcony. My neighbours used their balcony alot too, and on day 1 I asked if my music was bothering them, and they said that they loved the music and I should keep playing it.

 

They were smokers, and literally smoked one cigarette after another, and the smell was really bad. So much so that my wife and/or kids could not sit out and enjoy the balcony with me while they were there.

 

I never let it bother me though because firstly I felt that if they want to smoke on their balcony, who am I to stop them. they paid for the balcony, let them use it how they wish. And secondly, they were such a nice couple from Tampa that I had some great chats with every day.

[Ladysilver]

The only time we had a problem was on our Rhapsody cruise. Our neighbor to our right kept sticking his head around the partition to talk to us. We barely had any peace and quiet to just relax or read. It got so bad we tried to sneak out there so he wouldn't go out on his balcony when we were on ours. It was as if he was listening to the sound of our door or something. It was not only very annoying. It was creepy. :eek:

[Familygoboston]

Good heavens! Nosey...25 years cruising I've never had anyone peek:eek: there's even an " unwritten "etiquette that even if you can hear or see eachother at the rail, you really don't try to make eye contact. Very occasionally I've said a good morning if someone was right at the rail next to me, but generally give everyone a wide berth and lots of privacy. Other than a bit of errant smoke (get more popcorn Bigque:rolleyes:) ;)) we've never had a problem.

 

On one aft balcony we had a couple who seemed to play music aloud through iphone speakers and host other family members for drinks; rather than create fisticuffs over it, I knocked in their door and gave them the bottle of champagne my TA sent ( since I don't drink it) and once we were all on good terms, they didn't mind if I nicely asked them to turn down the tunes etc later on. Really, of we were out there they were respectful about the noise and smoking because we were on good terms. But that's really the only balcony interaction we've ever had!

[hellsop]

13 balcony cruises and no problems. Enjoy chatting with our neighbors as we enter a port, watch sail away or laugh at "the runners".

 

The group I cruise with refer to that as "the show". As in "Do you want food before we leave port, or should we head to the VC to watch the show?" Some trips that's the best thing about port days....

[hellsop]

I'm surprised so many people are upset about the lights. I never thought about that. One of the things I do is read at night on the balcony after the others have gone to bed. It never occurred to me that this would bother people. Now that I know about it, though, I'm not sure I would change what I'm doing. I have just as much right to read on my balcony as others have to sit and look at the stars. I don't leave the light on all night. I do turn it off when I go to bed.

 

If you're using it, please enjoy!

[dreamer976]

 

I don't care for cigarette smoke but do enjoy a nice cigar in the evening. how in the world when the ship is moving can the smoke be that much of a bother to send folks running inside?

 

Sorry, but have always cruised with a balcony. Back when I was a cigarette smoker (smokefree for 7 years now) I, too, would enjoy my balcony with a relaxing cigarette or three. My last cruise I might as well have had a cabin with a window as my forward balcony neighbor must have spent almost all of this cruise out on the balcony smoking Cigars. Cigarette smoke I can tolerate, but Cigar smoke gets into my nasal passages and will be all I can smell for hours! It is also against the rules! I will not let cigars ruin another balcony experience for me again - I'll be the "stoolie for stogies" PITA and pick up my phone.

[RockeyBullwinkle]

now neighborly conversation is a problem.. if some of you folks are so anti-social maybe cruising isn't the perfect vacation for you? folks only want tables for two, don't want folks trying to be friendly on the balcony, worry about some old guy that crapped his pants (I'm pretty sure he didn't do it on purpose) if you have to look over your rail to see the naked guy every morning is it his fault or yours? how did you know he was there everyday?

[gfd_2]

Even with smokers (we quit 18 years ago) and lights left on we've never had an issue which affected our cruise. There's enough of a breeze to blow the smoke away and the curtains close.

 

We've met some very nice folks while hanging over the railing coming in/ leaving port. While at sea we haven't seen or heard from our neighbors.

 

We did have an issue 2 cruises ago when the azzhats in the room next to us cranked the TV to just about full volume and left the room at about 11 pm.

[firstimer2009]

We had a balcony to Alaska that was horrible with the people to the left of us. They ran a card game 24/7 and the noise was non-stop. We could never, and I mean NEVER go out on our deck without many people on the deck playing cards. We did not complain although it gives me caution. Smoke is nothing compared to having a card party nonstop next door.

[eggroll]

Never had nosey neighbors, however we had quite a bit of balcony porn on several occasions :eek::eek::eek: not us mind you lol.

 

I don't believe you. Need video evidence.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[saharaga]

People are just sharing their experience. You should really adjust your tone since this is how well meaning threads turn ugly. It really doesn't matter whether the old guy meant to crap in his pants or not. Having to stare at and smell poop is not pleasant under any circumstances. As for the implication that we were purposely on the balcony to see this very unsexy person naked, please get a grip. He made it a point to be on the balcony sans clothes at times when he knew lots of other people would be out there - namely when the ship docked and departed. He is clearly the one with the problem and we were not going to avoid our balcony because of some idiot with no sense of decorum.

 

 

now neighborly conversation is a problem.. if some of you folks are so anti-social maybe cruising isn't the perfect vacation for you? folks only want tables for two, don't want folks trying to be friendly on the balcony, worry about some old guy that crapped his pants (I'm pretty sure he didn't do it on purpose) if you have to look over your rail to see the naked guy every morning is it his fault or yours? how did you know he was there everyday?

[Merion_Mom]

No horror stories for me, have had rather loud balcony neighbors a couple times but didn't really bother me. Also one time had a neighbor with a severe flatulence issue. Fortunately he was downwind :)

 

I am skipping reading the rest of the thread to applaud you, voyager, for this excellent post.

 

:D

[Merion_Mom]

We have always had balcony and have never had a problem of any kind with our neighbors...except a single incident on our last cruise...the 2nd leg of a b2b so we had been on the ship for the previous week. We walked into our room mid-afternoon just in time to see one of our balcony chairs disappearing onto the balcony to our left. I couldn't believe it. The dude actually stole one of the chairs from our balcony! My hubby immediately went out and leaned over and said "we're gonna need that chair back". The guy tried to deny that he took it but the chair had clips on the back of it where I had clipped a bathing suit to dry...and there was the fact that we SAW the chair disappearing around the balcony divider!! He gave it back but never even apologized. Strangest thing that has ever happened to us on a cruise.

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

 

Really odd behavior! :eek:

[Merion_Mom]

People are just sharing their experience. You should really adjust your tone since this is how well meaning threads turn ugly. It really doesn't matter whether the old guy meant to crap in his pants or not. Having to stare at and smell poop is not pleasant under any circumstances. As for the implication that we were purposely on the balcony to see this very unsexy person naked, please get a grip. He made it a point to be on the balcony sans clothes at times when he knew lots of other people would be out there - namely when the ship docked and departed. He is clearly the one with the problem and we were not going to avoid our balcony because of some idiot with no sense of decorum.

 

I like you! Let's cruise together in neighboring balcony cabins! ;)

[foxesden1]

on Royal, never had a issue. On Disney? We had a family wedding in the cabin next to ours, they were smokers, and very loud.