Why interior with virtual balcony cheaper than interior?

[mcatmcat]

Hi 

I was wondering why some sailing on the Symphony has the interior virtual balcony cheaper than booking interior, is it because they just want to fill those virtual balcony because no one is booking them or is it another reason behind it?

 

Thank you

[SAmome]

It would likely be an anomaly in pricing and should book VB if at all interested.  The only drawback I can think of is some VB have a chair instead of a sofa for some reason, like a connecting room might have.  I liked VB on Harmony and booked it again on Navigator.  I want to say premium was 30-40pp over regular inside for a 3 night.

[AlexisV]

Probably just availability for that particular cruise... I've read good reviews on those virtual balcony rooms 🙂

[mcatmcat]

thank you

[pspercy]

I read an interesting article about the early days of Virtual Balcony cabins. Seems like Royal didn't think it would be hard to implement but in fact it wasn't easy. People were getting seasick. Turns out that unless the motion seen corresponded exactly with that felt or sensed then things were primed for nausea. They had to buy more sophisticated (=expensive) gear than anticipated to make it work.

[ONECRUISER]

8 minutes ago, pspercy said:

I read an interesting article about the early days of Virtual Balcony cabins. Seems like Royal didn't think it would be hard to implement but in fact it wasn't easy. People were getting seasick. Turns out that unless the motion seen corresponded exactly with that felt or sensed then things were primed for nausea. They had to buy more sophisticated (=expensive) gear than anticipated to make it work.

Yeah that would be weird optics, rocking to one way and screen offset 

[SakeDad]

If you look at pics of the VI they have multiple configurations. Some are much more roomier than others. I have also heard the screens put off unwanted heat in such small cabins. I think until, and if, they become a hit they will stay cheaper.

[SAmome]

2 hours ago, SakeDad said:

If you look at pics of the VI they have multiple configurations. Some are much more roomier than others. I have also heard the screens put off unwanted heat in such small cabins. I think until, and if, they become a hit they will stay cheaper.

Most of the time they are not cheaper; I haven't seen it on my sailings.  Interesting about the heat tho and possible motion issues, we have one reserved and figure worse case turn it off.

[BecciBoo]

5 hours ago, SakeDad said:

If you look at pics of the VI they have multiple configurations. Some are much more roomier than others. I have also heard the screens put off unwanted heat in such small cabins. I think until, and if, they become a hit they will stay cheaper.

We were on Navigator, one of the first implemented and got to speak with the developer who was on board at the time.  He interviewed us as one of the first such cabin owners.  We also had one assigned that cruise to us as a guarantee, and we were delighted.  It did not give off any heat at all and the movement/real time streaming picture never upset us at all.  Since the image IS real time I don't get why it wouldn't feel real time.

 

The image also corresponds to the side your cabin is located on, so you actually see exactly what the i.e. port side is seeing if you are port side.  They have always been slightly higher, I think, to pay for said technology.  If it is lower, you better grab it, we loved it. Here is a pic of the image.  I also loved the faint blue light that it emitted when the curtains were pulled, good for bathroom duty.  Oh, and the room felt much bigger and airy.....

Edited March 27, 2019 by BecciBoo

[Williamsburgcruiser]

We were on Anthem with the interior balcony - and first, the image was not clear at all.  We didn't realize it wasn't clear until we saw our neighbors, and theirs was crystal clear.  Secondly, all night, it would "re-boot" and the room would fill with green and blue - even when it was shut off for the night.  And there was no rhyme or reason of when it would re-boot.

 

So, now that I've tried it - I don't find it worth it - so we'll just stick to our regular interior and watch the tv.

 

Happy sailings!

[dacsmom]

5 hours ago, SakeDad said:

If you look at pics of the VI they have multiple configurations. Some are much more roomier than others. I have also heard the screens put off unwanted heat in such small cabins. I think until, and if, they become a hit they will stay cheaper.

 

No unwanted heat in by cabin on the Anthem. I loved my virtual balcony and would book one again.

[coldturkey247]

Not to hijack the thread but can someone explain the difference between the various types of interior staterooms e.g. 1V, 2V, 4V, 6V?

[Clarea]

3 minutes ago, coldturkey247 said:

Not to hijack the thread but can someone explain the difference between the various types of interior staterooms e.g. 1V, 2V, 4V, 6V?

 

Lower numbers denote perceived better location.  Odd numbers denote staterooms that can hold more than 2 guests.

 

[coldturkey247]

Thank you. I’m looking at Oasis NY to Bahamas 17th May 2020- is there much difference between rooms10273/ 75, 11275/ 77/ 79/ 81? Any preference?

 

[watson61]

16 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

 

Lower numbers denote perceived better location.  Odd numbers denote staterooms that can hold more than 2 guests.

 

 

Thank you!  I had no idea.

[Clarea]

3 minutes ago, coldturkey247 said:

Thank you. I’m looking at Oasis NY to Bahamas 17th May 2020- is there much difference between rooms10273/ 75, 11275/ 77/ 79/ 81? Any preference?

 

 

Not a whole lot of difference, but if I recall correctly, the balcony is larger on the staterooms at the forward end, such as 10273.

[ShillyShally]

1 hour ago, Host Clarea said:

 

Lower numbers denote perceived better location.  Odd numbers denote staterooms that can hold more than 2 guests.

 

Thank you, this makes sense - didn't know the odd/even thing!

[ShillyShally]

2 hours ago, BecciBoo said:

We were on Navigator, one of the first implemented and got to speak with the developer who was on board at the time.  He interviewed us as one of the first such cabin owners.  We also had one assigned that cruise to us as a guarantee, and we were delighted.  It did not give off any heat at all and the movement/real time streaming picture never upset us at all.  Since the image IS real time I don't get why it wouldn't feel real time.

 

The image also corresponds to the side your cabin is located on, so you actually see exactly what the i.e. port side is seeing if you are port side.  They have always been slightly higher, I think, to pay for said technology.  If it is lower, you better grab it, we loved it. Here is a pic of the image.  I also loved the faint blue light that it emitted when the curtains were pulled, good for bathroom duty.  Oh, and the room felt much bigger and airy.....

This is pretty, if I knew I'd be sure to get this I'd try it!  Some other poster reports about not being clear or rebooting though would drive me batty!  And I'm prone to motion sickness so I would hope it wouldn't bother me - I'd be certainly willing to try it out and just turn it off if we hated it, though I have become pretty attached to balcony cabins.

[BecciBoo]

4 hours ago, ShillyShally said:

This is pretty, if I knew I'd be sure to get this I'd try it!  Some other poster reports about not being clear or rebooting though would drive me batty!  And I'm prone to motion sickness so I would hope it wouldn't bother me - I'd be certainly willing to try it out and just turn it off if we hated it, though I have become pretty attached to balcony cabins.

You can turn the sound off and just shut the curtain over it if you need to.  We had no "rebooting" or clarity problems at all so don't know what they are referring to. It is a giant screen though so the closer you stand to it the more grainy the image.   But they were working on the system on our cruise and had some sound problems...otherwise, we could hear the ocean sounds just like you do on  a balcony.  Like I said, the image is a real time video coming from cameras on all 4 sides of the ship. So don't know how it could be out of sinc at all.  This was the first roll out of it on Navi, but since it has been in place on many ships since then, I would think they'd have all the kinks worked out by now.  I did have a video of it showing the pier in Galveston, you could hear all the clinking of chains and the skidders loading supplies and luggage and it put me to sleep before Muster as I laid down on the bed.  It was great! But I can't find it to show you.

[mcatmcat]

I was going to book the interior virtual balcony but for a little more I can get the central park view stateroom which is bigger than the interior and has real sunlight.  Also, the position for the virtual balcony is all the way in the front of the ship and unless you pick the right deck you might find yourself walking extra after walking all the way to the fornt