On MSC Virtuosa, 8103 8105 8104 8106 look to have huge balconies but...

[Stockjock]

On its sister ship, Grandiosa, those balconies look to be a closer to standard size.  Does anyone know if they are a lot larger or not?

I do understand that most of those 8th obstructed balconies are deeper to begin with, but on MSC's deck plan, the cabins mentioned look to have balconies about twice as wide, where on Grandiosa that does not appear to be the case.

[Stockjock]

This should show what I’m referring to. If anyone knows of any photos of these cabins, I’d love to see them.

[billybob123]

Someone helpfully posted a good view of 8103 on Youtube. 

 

I don't know if this link will work, but if not, just search YT for Virtuosa 8103. It appears to be a massive balcony!

 

 

[Stockjock]

3 hours ago, billybob123 said:

Someone helpfully posted a good view of 8103 on Youtube. 

 

I don't know if this link will work, but if not, just search YT for Virtuosa 8103. It appears to be a massive balcony!

 

 

Thanks for the video, it was helpful. I did go ahead and book one of those huge balcony cabins. This is a winter sailing  and it will be damned near freezing, so I’m not sure how much I’ll be on the balcony, but it’s always nice to have the extra real estate.

[racephoto]

11 hours ago, Stockjock said:

Thanks for the video, it was helpful. I did go ahead and book one of those huge balcony cabins. This is a winter sailing  and it will be damned near freezing, so I’m not sure how much I’ll be on the balcony, but it’s always nice to have the extra real estate.

Just be aware that it’s probably going to be noisy as hell. For my last three days on the Grandiosa I moved to an interior cabin on 10 because I figured that since I had to go through the hassle of moving anyway, I might as well just go for a cheap cabin. Unfortunately, it was close to one of those crew staircases and the noise was just really obnoxious. They’re usually in a hurry so taking the time to gently close the doors isn’t happening……the slamming was awful. Add that to the fact that a giant party group got on in Barcelona for that same three day mini, and they were drunk and stampeding through the halls slamming their own doors and I ended up getting about five hours of sleep in three days. 🤣 If noise doesn’t bother you though, having a huge balcony is great. However, consider that if you’re not going to be out there, the deeper balcony and the lifeboat restriction to the view will mean that you have less a view of the ocean from your cabin. Just something to consider. For cold weather cruising I prefer a shallow balcony and a sofa by the door. 

[Stockjock]

5 hours ago, racephoto said:

Just be aware that it’s probably going to be noisy as hell. For my last three days on the Grandiosa I moved to an interior cabin on 10 because I figured that since I had to go through the hassle of moving anyway, I might as well just go for a cheap cabin. Unfortunately, it was close to one of those crew staircases and the noise was just really obnoxious. They’re usually in a hurry so taking the time to gently close the doors isn’t happening……the slamming was awful. Add that to the fact that a giant party group got on in Barcelona for that same three day mini, and they were drunk and stampeding through the halls slamming their own doors and I ended up getting about five hours of sleep in three days. 🤣 If noise doesn’t bother you though, having a huge balcony is great. However, consider that if you’re not going to be out there, the deeper balcony and the lifeboat restriction to the view will mean that you have less a view of the ocean from your cabin. Just something to consider. For cold weather cruising I prefer a shallow balcony and a sofa by the door. 

My GF was not thrilled about the lifeboat obstruction.  I told her, "just think of it as your new big orange friend!" 

She wasn't convinced.

Edited September 28, 2022 by Stockjock

[racephoto]

Interestingly, here on the Mera they did it differently. They took that area and made it a weird little window area. I walked by it soon after boarding and was trying to figure out what the purpose of it was. But then I kind of forgot about it until this thread. I went back today to look at it again. But anyway, maybe this picture will help you visualize the balcony depth. I probably also would book it if it was available and take a big blanket. 🙂 I’d still be worried about noise from that stairway door tho. (This was the starboard side between 8104 and 8106. I’m in 8148 here and was in 8168 on the Grandiosa)

Edited September 28, 2022 by racephoto

[Stockjock]

4 minutes ago, racephoto said:

Interestingly, here on the Mera they did it differently. They took that area and made it a weird little window area. I walked by it soon after boarding and was trying to figure out what the purpose of it was. But then I kind of forgot about it until this thread. I went back today to look at it again. But anyway, maybe this picture will help you visualize the balcony depth. I probably also would book it if it was available and take a big blanket. 🙂 I’d still be worried about noise from that stairway door tho. 

 

[Stockjock]

Thanks for the photo.  That's interesting.

It also doesn't seem like they made a very effective use of that space.  If you look at this video, you'll see that the balcony is probably 3-4 times larger than normal (it's also deeper and about 3 wide), yet they only apparently put 1 standard-sized table and 2 standard sized chairs on it.

Seems like it would be perfect for a couple of loungers given all of that room.
Underutilized Balcony Space.

[barras]

Hi Stockjock, not sure if you've sailed yet but did you happen to have any luck confirming whether those cabins on Grandiosa have the larger balcony as on Bellisima and Virtuosa or the blocked off window area as on Meraviglia at all? Considering booking one on Grandiosa but even MSC aren't sure how the space works on Grandiosa! 

 

Many thanks. 

[Stockjock]

1 hour ago, barras said:

Hi Stockjock, not sure if you've sailed yet but did you happen to have any luck confirming whether those cabins on Grandiosa have the larger balcony as on Bellisima and Virtuosa or the blocked off window area as on Meraviglia at all? Considering booking one on Grandiosa but even MSC aren't sure how the space works on Grandiosa! 

 

Many thanks. 

I did sail on Grandiosa, but we had an aft balcony and no opportunity to check out those cabins.

I recorded this video on our recent sailing on Virtuosa, fwiw.

 

[perakcruiser]

Perfect to set up a Golf training area. Just need to bring some carpet, nets and a putting green. 

[heatherb1958]

I know this is an old resurrected thread but my input is Meraviglia was the first ship in the class , maybe some bright spark said " hey, why don't we make some guests happy and give them that space as a bigger balcony? " 😆. 

As each ship comes out tweaks are made , we have been on all the ships in that  class in the order they came out , we definitely prefer the slightly larger Grandiosa and Virtuosa over Meraviglia and Bellissima due to  the added venue of L'Atelier bar on the Galleria . 

[barras]

17 hours ago, Stockjock said:

I did sail on Grandiosa, but we had an aft balcony and no opportunity to check out those cabins.

I recorded this video on our recent sailing on Virtuosa, fwiw.

 

 

Ah I see, thanks anyway and hope you enjoyed your aft balcony! That video re Virtuosa is really helpful as well, thanks.

[Stockjock]

5 hours ago, barras said:

 

Ah I see, thanks anyway and hope you enjoyed your aft balcony! That video re Virtuosa is really helpful as well, thanks.

Here's the Grandiosa aft balcony video, if you have an interest.