Afraid of Heights – Balcony???

[JDCMN]

I’ve enjoyed reading about your balcony experiences and daydream about having my coffee out on the balcony in the morning or watching the stars from the balcony in the evening. But there’s one catch – I’m afraid of heights!

So my questions are - has anyone else been in this position? Are you afraid of heights and still booked a balcony cabin? If so, what was your experience and was it a good or bad decision for you? Did you notice the height? From the pictures I’ve seen, the balconies seem on the small side and it looks like your chair is fairly close to the railing.

I’d hate to book a balcony at the higher expense and then be too afraid to use it! :(

Your thoughts and input are greatly appreciated!

[CMurph]

I, too, have problem with heights, but I love balcony cabins. The only time it bothers me is if I lean over the railing and look straight down. Sitting in the chair and looking out to sea is not a problem. The same is true throughout the ship....I can go to the highest level and on the glass enclosed elevators...as long as I don't look straight down. But, I cannot go close to the edge of anything that doesn't have a solid railing to hold on to. I was a mess looking a new houses a few years ago. Some of the stairs or decks did not have railings yet and I felt like I was just going to plunge over the edge of everything! Back to cruising....the problem has never created any issues for me during a cruise.

[glgolfer]

I don't do edges anymore and have no problem in a balcony cabin.

I sometimes get a touch of vertigo on a high hotel balcony, but never have on a cruise ship. Only advice I can give is try it.

Looking down on moving water is totally different.

[samtig]

I too sometimes get vertigo in high places, but not on a cruise ship balcony. No problem at all. Feels very safe & secure to me.

[JDCMN]

Thank you SO much for your insight and fast responses, CMurph, PaulWN and samtig! You have made me feel very hopeful in being able to positively experience the joys of a balcony cabin! Now I just have to start saving! :)

 

I wish you smooth sailing in all your cruises!

[shawilson]

I too, have a problem with heights. I didn't even know it, until I walked out on the observation deck of the Space Needle in Seattle. I totally froze, and had to be walked inside. That being said, we had a balcony on our first cruise, and at first, I kept my back to the wall and sat in a chair. Took me a little over a day to get my bearings and adjust to everything. I was fine after that. Enjoy your balcony, you too will adjust.

[morriscats]

I too hug the edges (that is IF DH can get me up there) in high places. Hotel rooms that are above my comfort level and I freak. But I love the balcony on the cruise ship - no problems at all. Go for it - so relaxing.

[txracefan]

I love a balcony.I'm the one who went on a roof to get something and couldn't find the nerve to get off.Thought for a while we where going to have to call a Firetruck.But I finally got down.

[momofmeg]

I have a very strong irrationial, phobic fear of heights and I love balconies! But , for some reason, when we are out over the water it does not bother me. Only when the ship is docked and we are over a concrete dock do I have a fear to look down from my balcony.

 

I also have a very bad fear of the glass elevators and those huge glitzy ship's atruims like the voyager class ships, and also the Carnival spirit class and fanasty class ships have. I am sure other classes of ships and other lines have those atruims; also but those are the classes of ships that I have been on that had those atruims. I much prefer the centrums!

[daiB]

I agree with most of the respondents I cannot stand more than 3 steps up a ladder and roller-coasters and big wheels freak me out. Last year I was in a hotel in Birmingham (UK) and I was on the 12st floor. In the morning I opened the curtains of the window and found it was floor to ceiling glass. I jumped back 3 feet and nearly had a heart attack. I would not be good in NY.

 

However we have generally had a balcony on A deck and I have been fine even leaning over to take a photo. (Some examples in links below) I love the balcony and being on the top decks of the ship. Very strange.

 

When you are at sea you seem to lose the impression of hight altogether.

 

I am sure you will have a great time.

 

 

:):)Happy Cruising:):)

[buddyjo143]

Thank you SO much for your insight and fast responses, CMurph, PaulWN and samtig! You have made me feel very hopeful in being able to positively experience the joys of a balcony cabin! Now I just have to start saving! :)

 

I wish you smooth sailing in all your cruises!

 

On your next cruise, see if you can find someone with a balcony cabin to let you check it out (maybe someone from your roll call?:rolleyes:). If not, stay on the ship as late as you can and just, wander into a balcony cabin and check it out. Granted you would be in port at that point but you can still look off from a seated position and see how it feels to you.

 

How do you do now with the outside decks. Can you sit and look off? I wouldn't imagine you go right to the edge but see how you feel about 3 feet from the edge (that is about how wide a balcony cabin deck is).

[JDCMN]

On your next cruise, see if you can find someone with a balcony cabin to let you check it out (maybe someone from your roll call?:rolleyes:). If not, stay on the ship as late as you can and just, wander into a balcony cabin and check it out. Granted you would be in port at that point but you can still look off from a seated position and see how it feels to you.

 

How do you do now with the outside decks. Can you sit and look off? I wouldn't imagine you go right to the edge but see how you feel about 3 feet from the edge (that is about how wide a balcony cabin deck is).

 

That's a great idea about checking out a balcony cabin ahead of time!

 

When I was on the Lido Deck, I had to sit a few feet away from the edge even with the glass windows and couldn't sit with my back to the glass (although who would want to since the view was facing outwards!). But you brought up an excellent point since it seems as if I was able to tolerate being 3 feet from the edge. Thanks so much!

[JDCMN]

I have a very strong irrationial, phobic fear of heights and I love balconies! But , for some reason, when we are out over the water it does not bother me. Only when the ship is docked and we are over a concrete dock do I have a fear to look down from my balcony.

 

I also have a very bad fear of the glass elevators and those huge glitzy ship's atruims like the voyager class ships, and also the Carnival spirit class and fanasty class ships have. I am sure other classes of ships and other lines have those atruims; also but those are the classes of ships that I have been on that had those atruims. I much prefer the centrums!

 

When I started boarding the Sensation a few weeks ago (on the Empress Deck), I happened to glance down before my first step onto the gangway, stopped dead and froze! It was only through sheer determination and, of course, the anticipation and excitement of the cruise that I was able to cross that ramp. I think it was the fastest ramp crossing in cruise ship history! :) Even the Carnival employee was looking at me funny! I also had to hug the walls going around the atrium but that was a minor inconvenience compare the the thrill of being on a cruise!

 

Thanks so much for sharing your comparison between not being able to look down at the dock but are perfectly fine with looking down at the water!

[JDCMN]

Thank you ALL so very much for sharing your experiences!!! I feel so reassured that my dream of cruising on a balcony seems to be a definite option!

 

We're cruising on Carnival's Sensation this October but hope to book a cruise on the Carnival Glory for sometime in 2008. Since that will be a 7 day cruise, I wanted/needed/coveted/desired a balcony to enhance the experience and to commune with the sea!

 

I can't tell you enough how much I appreciate your thoughtful responses and balcony optimism!

 

Thanks again and very Happy Cruising to you all!

[Toyz711]

it takes everything i have to step down to a escalator. going down stairs i have to hold the rail. drives my DH nuts...he just knows i am going to fall or worse, hold up a long line. he has learned to just go down and wait for me. since we are exercising, i am working on getting better going down stairs..i tell myself it's exercising, not stairs. can NOT walk over any open space without the old freak-out. ramps or walkway that sway..i have to remember to breathe and just go on.

balconies are no problem. (look at the pictures in my album) i think i just look at the views and forget how high it is. it's a mind game that i try to win. my mind tells me to be afraid and i have to tell it to SHUT UP!! i will not turn into my mom and get so afraid i can't leave the house, take cruises, fly to new places.

but will one of you come and hold my hand when we go to costa rica..DH has us signed up for zip lining!!! i am not happy!! but he will go whale watching with me everytime ( and never complain) , the least i can do is do this once in 26 years? still hoping he gets too tired from fishing to do the zip lining.

[buddyjo143]

Thank you ALL so very much for sharing your experiences!!! I feel so reassured that my dream of cruising on a balcony seems to be a definite option!

 

We're cruising on Carnival's Sensation this October but hope to book a cruise on the Carnival Glory for sometime in 2008. Since that will be a 7 day cruise, I wanted/needed/coveted/desired a balcony to enhance the experience and to commune with the sea!

 

I can't tell you enough how much I appreciate your thoughtful responses and balcony optimism!

 

Thanks again and very Happy Cruising to you all!

 

We cruised the Glory at Christmas. Had three adjoining balcony cabins. It was nice but for the amount of time we spent there I am happy to have my inside cabin or an OV. By all means try one if you think you would like it.

 

I'm glad I tried but I can cruise more often if I stay "inside". For me I guess it is quantity v. quality (not that the quality was so much better or worse:p).

[paul929207]

My wife gets quezy when she is "up" there. She does not spend a lot of time looking down from our balcony when cruising, but she loves the balcony.

 

 

Paul

[momofmeg]

When I started boarding the Sensation a few weeks ago (on the Empress Deck), I happened to glance down before my first step onto the gangway, stopped dead and froze! It was only through sheer determination and, of course, the anticipation and excitement of the cruise that I was able to cross that ramp. I think it was the fastest ramp crossing in cruise ship history! :) Even the Carnival employee was looking at me funny! I also had to hug the walls going around the atrium but that was a minor inconvenience compare the the thrill of being on a cruise!

 

Thanks so much for sharing your comparison between not being able to look down at the dock but are perfectly fine with looking down at the water!

 

Yes I have a little problem with that too but that has not stopped me from taking 12 cruises! and many more in the future I hope!

[shawilson]

To the OP: Please come back and tell us how the "height" issue worked out for you. You may be able to pass on valuable tips to all of us.

[JDCMN]

To the OP: Please come back and tell us how the "height" issue worked out for you. You may be able to pass on valuable tips to all of us.

 

We haven't booked the 7 day cruise yet since we're going on the Sensation again in October (no balconies, only suites which are above the budget) and want to compare which time of year we'd like to go in 2008 (we were also on the Sensation in March). Once we decide which month, then we'll hopefully book that balcony!!

 

Yes, I will most certainly post my height experiences here as you all have been so kind in your responses!

 

Jeannie

[pg.]

I too have a fear of heights, hotel balconys actually freak me out.

 

 

That said, we booked a balcony cabin on the Caribe deck on the Caribbean Princess( and the info is the same for the the Golden , Star and Grand Princess sister ships) and I LOVED it. The balcony is larger then the regular 9 ft by 6 foot ones, on the Caribe deck they are all 9 x9 ft so you can sit WELL BACK form the edge, four chairs fit out there, so you never need to be near the edge, plus, the balconys are tiered so if you look straight down you actually only are looking down on to a balcony below you, not straight down onto sea or cement.

[JDCMN]

Just to give an update over a year and a half later after first asking this question! :)

 

I just returned from my latest cruise, first one with a balcony, and height wasn't an issue - I absolutely loved it! I was even able to lean on the railing and look at the water without any problems at all. (Okay, okay, I may have had a slight twinge once in a while but they were far and few between! :)) It was wonderful to sit out there with coffee or read a book or just listen to the waves.

 

Thanks again to all of you for your positive comments. You helped me to make the balcony decision and it was awesome!

 

I wish you all many happy and smooth sailings!

[gkrnjlr]

I have a serious fear of heights. I can ride a roller coaster for some reason but then if you put me on the ship I still have the fear of heights. We do book balcony cabins and I have found that I can't stand against the railing at all!

 

This past cruise though - we booked a balcony cabin that was on deck 7 and the lifeboats were 2 decks below us. Somehow that made me feel "better" about it. I was able to stand by the railing. I couldn't lean out at all - but I was able to stand there. I guess because I didn't see the water below me immediately. They weren't in our view - so it wasn't an obstructed view either.

 

Balconies are great though! You just have to either stand back or find what works for you!

[melana]

I am afraid of heights, boats, and large bodies of water...And I still decided to book a cruise and get a balcony...

 

My friends think I am crazy and that I will pass out the moment I get on the ship but I am confident that I will be okay.

[JDCMN]

I am afraid of heights, boats, and large bodies of water...And I still decided to book a cruise and get a balcony...

 

My friends think I am crazy and that I will pass out the moment I get on the ship but I am confident that I will be okay.

 

Melana, You'll have to give us a report when you get back on how it went! Your attitude is great and that will definitely help you through whatever you may encounter.

 

Have a wonderful cruise!