Infinite verandas - PROs and CONs

[marieps]

The low chairs and tiny table of which some folks speak are not really about the IV, more about Kelly Hoppen.  Nuff said.

[the penguins]

3 hours ago, alex_drew said:

We were on a Transatlantic on Edge in an IV.  We absolutely LOVED it!  The cabin is larger and if you want to be on the balcony and not have the AC go off, we simply shut the balcony doors.  Yes, you have to move one of the chairs slightly to do that...took about 2 seconds...didn't bother us at all.  We were in Bermuda, and then the TA, and then several ports before we reached Southampton.  If it was hot/warm/cold you had the option of putting the window down all the way or having it at different levels to suit your comfort level.  We were able to sit there in pretty bad storms and were completely comfortable.  To be honest, we used that area a lot more than we usually use a regular balcony on a cruise because of all of the options with that window.  Also the one day that the window was locked for window washing, we had a note in the room giving us a "heads up" so we knew what to expect...and in my view it's worth it for clean windows.  I've been on too many cruises to count where the windows were filthy and you couldn't enjoy looking out of them.  I know I'm in the minority here, but I wish more ships had the IV option.

Surely the Aircon switch is connected to the window dropping not the inner folding doors i.e. as soon as the window drops the Aircon goes off? Yours is the first post I have seen that says you can close the inner doors and still have space to sit between the inner doors and the dropping window or have I misread your post? Anyone have a picture of anyone  doing that? Thanks 

[kwokpot]

1 hour ago, the penguins said:

Surely the Aircon switch is connected to the window dropping not the inner folding doors i.e. as soon as the window drops the Aircon goes off? Yours is the first post I have seen that says you can close the inner doors and still have space to sit between the inner doors and the dropping window or have I misread your post? Anyone have a picture of anyone  doing that? Thanks 

It is absolutely incorrect that the AC stays on when the folding room partitions are closed. Those partitions have absolutely no affect on the HVAC. The opening or closing of the window is what triggers the HVAC. 

[Ipeeinthepools]

5 hours ago, marieps said:

The low chairs and tiny table of which some folks speak are not really about the IV, more about Kelly Hoppen.  Nuff said.

 

Not entirely true.  The chairs have to be small enough to fit on the "balcony" section when the interior doors are closed.  The conventional balcony furniture is far too large to fit in that space, so the size of the furniture had to be reduced to fit into that ill-conceived "balcony" space. 

[Luvcrusn]

The IV balcony furniture is made for Muppets. IDC who designed it, X approved it and bought it. It is uncomfortable and awful. The only thing I can say in its favor is that it fits in the space....sort of. We like to sit back and relax on a ship balcony. Those chairs have low backs, don't recline and are awful for sitting and relaxing.

Edited June 13, 2022 by Luvcrusn

[marieps]

5 hours ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

 

Not entirely true.  The chairs have to be small enough to fit on the "balcony" section when the interior doors are closed.  The conventional balcony furniture is far too large to fit in that space, so the size of the furniture had to be reduced to fit into that ill-conceived "balcony" space. 

Hence, the challenge to design furniture that is functional for the space.  IMO she did not live up to it.  She's got dead coral crowding the shelf space down to a T, however.

[the penguins]

7 hours ago, kwokpot said:

It is absolutely incorrect that the AC stays on when the folding room partitions are closed. Those partitions have absolutely no affect on the HVAC. The opening or closing of the window is what triggers the HVAC. 

Exactly the point I was making whereas the original post (alex_drew) claimed that by shutting the inner doors the Aircon stayed on. 

[kearney]

If you look at the original animated video of the IV cabin and compare it to photos of an actual cabin...you will notice that the perspective in the video is off... it makes it look like the cabin is wider than it really is... I can't help but wonder if decisions about the ship were based on these inaccurate representations. As I recall the size of the veranda section is listed as something like 41 sq ft...but if you actually measure the usable sq ft size..it is about 32 sq ft.. I suspect they do not exclude the impact of the walls... which ..unlike plexiglass partitions contain all the electronics for the window and blinds. Alas I don't think there is anyway to improve the veranda on newer versions of the ship...perhaps they could be made deeper...but since the veranda is part of the structure of the ship...vs hanging on the outside... the cost of design changes and material costs would likely be prohibitive... But try it... as I noted earlier.. I did like it...just not enough to chose E class over S class...

[JBare]

I have been in IV rooms on both the Edge and the Beyond, they are exactly the same, however the balcony chairs on the Beyond are now much better than they used to be on the Edge. Our experience on the Beyond was a much better one in an IV than the one on the Edge due to the different climate outside the ship. On our Beyond cruise the climate was cool not much greater than 22 degrees C at any time so it was easier to keep control of the room temperature with window open. Our Edge cruise temperature outside exceeded 30 degrees most days, this will have a huge impact on how people view the rooms.
The ambience of the IV is a light airy space with great views of the sea which we both quite liked, its a pleasant space to be in,  thats the pro.
I think a few pictures might illustrate some of the points made, either to enforce or debunk.

 

[JBare]

First a few pictures of the more conventional S class balcony for comparison
It is clear that there is room for reclining chairs and a decent table. The sliding doors can be opened or closed in just seconds, there is only a single pane of glass on the outer edge of the balcony. There are curtains behind the sliding doors which can be part closed from either side or completely closed (also in seconds) whilst someone can stay on the balcony. This allows the sun to be blocked out and the air con to stay functional and keep the room cool. The balcony becomes a completely independent space.
In all my time on this type of balcony only once has the single outer pane of balcony glass been really dirty, it is however easy to clean and the cabin attendant cleaned the glass for me with a squeegee type device on a pole , its easy to reach both sides of the glass from the balcony. The Sliding glass doors are also easy to clean by the attendant if requested.

 

 

Edited June 13, 2022 by JBare

[JBare]

Now the IV
The IV glass is double glazed and tinted and being closer to the edge of the balcony than the sliding doors get dirty from sea spray or bad weather quite easily.  
It takes about 15 to 30 seconds to open the window and you have to keep your finger on the button. When the window is open you are looked through four panes of glass while sat on the balcony.The outer panes cannot be reached by a cabin attendant, the upper window blocks the lower when open, thats the one we look through when sat down with the window shut. So you are dependent on whenever the Captain decides to wash the windows so they can stay salt encrusted for several days.  Even when the windows are washed by the jet wash they are not sqeegeed so spots of water are left and dry out still dirty.
The inner bi-fold doors can be closed for privacy but the only way to block the sun if it is low in the sky and shining straight into the room is to use the blind which comes down vertically and cannot be used if the window is open due to its position. So if you want to use the balcony and keep the sun out of the room you can't. When the sun is low in the sky say in the Med it shines in and the room is like a greenhouse, the air con is not good enough unless the blind is closed so the view has gone. This all clearly depends on the orientation of the sun, the ship and time of year etc which is one of the reasons why I think many people have different experiences with the IV.

 

[JBare]

If you can keep control of the temperature (difficult) and don't mind the loss of a real balcony which you can keep separate from the room the IV's are not a bad place. My wife likes them more than I do to be fair but we both still prefer a conventional room because in warmer climates they can be unpleasant.
Some more pictures .

 

[JBare]

The old balcony chairs seem to have found a new home.

 

[the penguins]

Just now, the penguins said:

 

Thanks. Your description and the pics have confirmed our worst fears. Cannot imagine relaxing in that "box" for 10 minutes let alone the hours we spend on a traditional balcony. Is it a deal breaker - for us yes. Interestingly the other cruise line (Viking) that has extensive experience of this type of cabin on its river ships chose not to have them on its Ocean going ones. I wonder why?

[Spif Barwunkel]

JBare - A perfect explanation, in words and pictures, of what the Infinite Veranda is all about. In the many threads prior to this one, regarding IV's, nothing comes close to your posts. They validate the reasons why IV guests liked or disliked their IV experience and why future Edge Class cruisers will or will not experience the IV cabin. 

 

We sailed on Edge shortly after her debut, in an IV. cabin. I enjoyed the cabin, my DW not as much. We are sailing on Beyond in 2023, in Europe, in an IV cabin. The reasons for my wife not being a big fan were not significant enough to keep us from booking the IV experience, again. We will thoroughly enjoy the cruise, the itinerary, the ship and the cabin. 

 

Thank you for the excellent representation of the Infinite Veranda. The many negatives to many folks are meaningless to us and our future experiences with those features will only be positive ones.  

 

    

[kearney]

Looking at the two sets of photos..you can really see just how much smaller the IV veranda is..vs S class. I noticed that in a few of the IV photos..the table was removed from the IV veranda... 

Notice how difficult it would be to close the folding doors without moving furniture around

[WorkerBee74]

On 6/9/2022 at 7:22 AM, AbbyCruiser45 said:

Pros: if you book a room with the couch close to the IV, you have a stunning and unobstructed view of the water. I personally loved this and sat on the couch and just watched the world go by. 

 

Cons: Not the best to have open for warm weather cruises. It gets very humid in the room. We mostly kept it closed. 

 

You can also crack the window just barely to get the wonderful ocean noise, but not let in all the warm air. We would do that while just hanging out in the room to hear the sounds of the sea. That's what I have attached here. And our deck of cards, didn't have to worry about the breeze messing with them. 

 

With that being said, I am also not outside a lot on warm weather cruises (very sun and heat sensitive) so the IV is a huge perk for me. The view from inside on a normal balcony cabin is obstructed unless standing. With an IV, it is the perfect view. It also gives more space in the room itself. Maybe I'm the minority, but I'm a big fan of the IV. 

 

 

 

Glad someone else likes it... I just put in a "MoveUp" bid from our Ocean View to an IV for our Med cruise in October - wish me luck!

Should be a bit cooler on that one so shouldn't get the humidity as much.  Plus, we're Canadian so we run a bit cooler than a lot of people, we'd love to have the window open if it's on the cooler side.

[Scottishclover]

4 hours ago, WorkerBee74 said:

 

Glad someone else likes it... I just put in a "MoveUp" bid from our Ocean View to an IV for our Med cruise in October - wish me luck!

Should be a bit cooler on that one so shouldn't get the humidity as much.  Plus, we're Canadian so we run a bit cooler than a lot of people, we'd love to have the window open if it's on the cooler side.

Just back from a Baltic cruise and got a move up to an IV from an inside. We loved the IV for a few reasons:

1) Additional space - our teenage girls were with us also. It just really opened up the stateroom. We kept the bifold doors open the whole time.

2) We are not lovers of air conditioning, coming from Scotland we’re just not used to it. We had the window open all the time for fresh air however I appreciate on Caribbean cruises this wouldn’t be as practical.

3) Here’s a pro nobody has mentioned so far - it makes a great airing room for sweaty gym gear and trainers😂 We were due to have an inside before we moved up - not sure how we would have coped with this issue! I was able to wash through kit and then leave it to dry with the window open without worrying about it being blown off the balcony.

 

As others have mentioned, it really depends on what purpose you have for the IV. We never book a balcony as normally the price difference for 4 compared to an inside is obscene and we just never sit out enough to merit it. We much prefer being out and about people watching but that is just us. I would definitely book one again - it was of more use to us than a traditional balcony.

[Cruise a holic]

If an S class a regular balcony fine- If edge class, sunset or cove balcony IMO best- I would be clostrophobic in an inside cabin especially with more then two people.  But everyone has to do what their budget allows.  We wouldn't book an s 3 either under or next to the magic carpet-  We book an s2 or s1 on the edge class and sometimes bid for an upgrade.  People say- we only sleep and shower in the cabin- we enjoy cocktails and breakfast in ours- also like to store clothing and luggage away- my kids might live out of the suitcases- Hate that.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[KKB]

We did Sunset Veranda on Edge. Loved it. But was it worth THAT much more $ that it typically is? 

Not for us. (it was not really more than IV last summer & they were only selling balconies)

 

We did IV on Apex in March.

We do not NEED a balcony--we are out & about on the ship & realize we don't use it enough to justify much extra for any balcony.

 

We did not love it but did not hate it. 

Liked it fine.

We did like how it extends the room.

For us there was little difference between putting the window down & sitting there vs. sitting on a traditional balcony. 

But again--how often did we do it?

A few times.

Would we book it again?If the price was right, yes.

 

I can see how the noise/light of it would not work if one likes to sit out there in AM when the other prefers to sleep in.

 

I have had covered balconies that aren't really much different, imo.

 

But to each his own.

[davekathy]

Glad the E class ships have different balcony options. IVs aren't appealing to us.

[Hlitner]

We think the entire IB is a true crock (for passengers) and a wonderful marketing tool for X.  For decades, River boats have had what is called a "French Balcony" which exists on some river boats because of restrictions on the width of the boat (in order to fit through canals and locks).  Like an Infinite Balcony, a French Balcony is not actually a balcony!  At best it is a weird hybrid balcony.   When we are in balcony cabins (or suites with balconies) on cruise ships, one of us can be out on the balcony with the doors closed.   In the morning I will often quietly sit on our balcony having coffee and reading while DW continues to sleep :).  At night there are times she will want to go to bed and I will go out on the balcony with some cognac and my Kindle and relax without disturbing DW.  Meanwhile, she is inside with the usual A/C and comfort.    While some might say infinite balconies are the best of both worlds I think of them as the worst of both worlds.  They are neither a true balcony or a true larger cabin.  On X, we would simply book a real balcony (which generally means a suite) or just go on one of the Solstice Class vessels (we really like the design of these ships) where they have plenty of real balcony cabins.

 

Hank

[D C]

34 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

We think the entire IB is a true crock (for passengers) and a wonderful marketing tool for X.  For decades, River boats have had what is called a "French Balcony" which exists on some river boats because of restrictions on the width of the boat (in order to fit through canals and locks).  Like an Infinite Balcony, a French Balcony is not actually a balcony!  At best it is a weird hybrid balcony.   When we are in balcony cabins (or suites with balconies) on cruise ships, one of us can be out on the balcony with the doors closed.   In the morning I will often quietly sit on our balcony having coffee and reading while DW continues to sleep :).  At night there are times she will want to go to bed and I will go out on the balcony with some cognac and my Kindle and relax without disturbing DW.  Meanwhile, she is inside with the usual A/C and comfort.    While some might say infinite balconies are the best of both worlds I think of them as the worst of both worlds.  They are neither a true balcony or a true larger cabin.  On X, we would simply book a real balcony (which generally means a suite) or just go on one of the Solstice Class vessels (we really like the design of these ships) where they have plenty of real balcony cabins.

 

Hank

Spot on.

[RichYak]

38 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

go on one of the Solstice Class vessels (we really like the design of these ships) where they have plenty of real balcony cabins.

I stopped cruising for a number of years and only started again a couple years ago. I've yet to sail on a Solstice class ship. I will make that happen soon.

[letsgogogo]

On 6/9/2022 at 6:09 AM, drakes2 said:

Why would someone pay for a balcony cabin and not use it unless they just like to look outside. Seems a waste of money.

If it’s cold. If it’s raining.