Keeping Balcony Divider Open

[Luckyroot]

We're sailing 2 weeks from tomorrow on the CB Repo cruise (hurray!!!!)

 

There are 5 couples, and we have 5 cabins in a row on the starboard side of the ship. Do the balcony divider doors stay open automatically (ie, is there some sort of latch to hold them open) or do I need to bring something like a bungee cord to make sure they stay open.

 

Really looking forward to our own little "promenade" with our friends!

[pungo3]

I believe you can go to the Pursers Desk when you board, taking a representative from each cabin involved. You can make a request for them to open the dividers between your cabins. On some ships, the divider swings to one side and fastens securely but on others, it has to be removed completely. Someone from the ship will have to do it and they need permission from each cabin.

 

I hope it works out for you and your group has a fabulous cruise!!!!!

[Ljoy]

There is really nothing that I have noticed that keeps them from moving except keeping one of the chairs up against it.

[Bacchus664]

We just asked our room steward if he could open the partition between the balconies. He was able to unlock it and securely fasten it to the wall.

[Fisherwoman]

We were on the Grand Princess and the balcony doors did open. I found a thread on the boards that said to take a 24" bungee cord to stop the door from banging. Worked great for the GP, but can't comment on any other ships.

 

Fisherwoman

[Toto2Kansas]

Opening the balcony divider is taken care of by the room steward, don't bother wasting your time going to the purser's desk or they will just send you back to find your room steward.

 

Even though you think this sounds like a great way to have your own private Promenade, be careful what you wish for if you permanently open the dividers. We did this once, and only once. I won't fill you in on the rest, as you will find out for yourself what happens when you permanently open them, even with close friends in the adjoining stateroom. ;)

 

Hopefully you have 5 staterooms that the dividers do actually open, there are some that will not. Had friends run into that problem after their TA told them they could open it. There was no way and no divider between their stateroom and the one next door.

[jmcruiser]

We travel with SIS & BIL and always open the door between the balconies and keep it open. We have 2 rules, you don't go on the other balcony if they are not there and no "private interludes" on the balcony;) . The second really is a given, but thought we'd throw it out for laughs. We really try to respect each others privacy and since we live 2000 miles apart we really do enjoy each others company and spend a lot of time together. Thankfully our husbands get along as well as we do. We have such fun, just writing about it makes me smile. Only 121 days to Cruise 2009.

 

For the OP you may want to suggest that the doors stay unlocked but closed and only travel between the balconies when all are present. Have fun!

[cruiser boo]

We cruised recently w/ 3 other couples & had all divider doors open all the time. One simple rule worked for us. If the outside balcony cabin light was on, it meant the coast is clear! We used the 2 center cabins for cocktails etc. Cruising thru the Canal & every night before dinner it gave us a 40 ft party balcony! Enjoy!

[DrivesLikeMario]

We always keep ours open between our cabin & our sons. On our Golden Princess cruise, we kept the balcony doors open between our cabin, our sons, and my parents' by using the chairs to hold them open.

 

Once in awhile, they'd close if the chair was pushed away by wind, but they wouldn't lock, so we could easily open them again.

 

With my parents, one thing we decided was that if our heavy curtain was closed, this meant, "Do not disturb". If the light, sheer curtain was across the slider, then you could pop in to visit. If you were on your balcony, you were "fair game" to have visitors. This set up boundaries & made the experience enjoyable. With as many couples as you have on your cruise, you might want to do something like this.

 

Definitely ask your cabin steward to open the doors. It has absolutely nothing to do with the Purser's desk.

[Luckyroot]

We're traveling with friends from HS, but I didn't really think about privacy issues. I like the idea of the outdoor light and/or curtain rules. Thanks for those tips!

 

I knew it was a question for the cabin steward, but I'm still unsure about whether or not to go get the bungee cords.

 

Does anyone know specifically if the doors lock into the open position or if bungee cords are required? We're in starboard side aft cabins on the Caribe Deck on the Caribbean Princess.

[Toto2Kansas]

We're traveling with friends from HS, but I didn't really think about privacy issues. I like the idea of the outdoor light and/or curtain rules. Thanks for those tips!

 

I knew it was a question for the cabin steward, but I'm still unsure about whether or not to go get the bungee cords.

 

Does anyone know specifically if the doors lock into the open position or if bungee cords are required? We're in starboard side aft cabins on the Caribe Deck on the Caribbean Princess.

 

We have had to use a chair in the past to keep it open. There is no 'lock position' that I have ever noticed to keep the door open by itself. You can bring a bungee cord if you wish, but a chair works perfectly.

[DrivesLikeMario]

Ours definitely did not lock in position in the regular balcony cabins on the Golden. But, they locked in position on the Coral Princess' Dolphin Deck mini-suites. It must depend on the ship.

 

What I'm wondering is where you'd tie down the bungee cord. Hopefully, you can see these pics from the Golden (these are reg. balcony cabins):

 

http://images.kodakgallery.com/photos4665/5/79/22/94/85/4/485942279503_0_ALB.jpg

 

http://images.kodakgallery.com/photos4665/5/79/22/26/29/9/929262279503_0_ALB.jpg

[pungo3]

I guess it totally depends on your ship and your room steward. We had first asked our room steward to open the balcony partition between four cabins. He is the one who made us go to the pursers desk and get 'permission' for him to do this. One partition had to be removed and the other two had latches to hold them in place. This was on the Star.

[Tyskie]

We have always done this...............usually 3-4 couples. Never had an incident where anyone was inconsiderate.

Most cabin stewarts were great about getting them opened soon after we asked. Only one that I remembered was reluctant.

FYI, the Crown has a hook and eye type latch and there was no problems.

On the Grand (Golden), we used the "old chair prop" but would imagine that the bungee would work well.

[Luckyroot]

Thanks to everyone who posted. I saw bungee cords in the dollar store, so I will get some just in case. Might even leave them onboard if packing to come home gets too tight (with souveniers!)

 

Thanks again everyone.

[pekachryn]

We just got off the Sapphire, and when we got in our cabin ours was locked open. There was a lift-up latch, like one might put on a screen door, that latched into a ring to hold it open. We did not know our neighbors, so closed it. We wished it would lock closed, as others could come on our balcony, but it wouldn't and kept swinging open. We learned to keep our curtains closed when changing our clothes, and ultimately placed a chair in front of the door to keep it from opening.

[DrivesLikeMario]

We just got off the Sapphire, and when we got in our cabin ours was locked open. There was a lift-up latch, like one might put on a screen door, that latched into a ring to hold it open. We did not know our neighbors, so closed it. We wished it would lock closed, as others could come on our balcony, but it wouldn't and kept swinging open. We learned to keep our curtains closed when changing our clothes, and ultimately placed a chair in front of the door to keep it from opening.

 

Why didn't you ask your cabin steward to lock it in the closed position? :confused: They all do lock in that position. The only reason why it wouldn't would be because it was broken & in that case, you'd call maintenance to repair it.

[BigGuy25]

Actually, they don't all lock in an open position. It all depends on the age of the ship. Some have hooks (or other devices) that lock them and some don't. I always travel with several sizes of bungees so that I can secure it if necessary. Once caution ... especially with as many cabins as you are talking about ... at several locations along the side of the ship (I believe it's adjacent to the fire doors on this inside hsllways) there is a solid steel wall on one side of the balcony. If that happens to be one of the cabins in your group, the opening will stop there!!!

[LENORA516]

One word of caution, I was on the Caribbean Princess in July and the cabins one deck up from us opened their balcony partitions. On a windy day the constant banging from those doors was enough to drive you crazy. Be considerate of others and make sure your doors are secured and quiet.

 

Lenore

[Luckyroot]

We have already confirmed that the fire door is just forward of our location so that shouldn't be a problem.

 

And of course we would never let the cabin doors bang. Aside from annoying other passengers it would annoy ME too.

[brightfeather]

We just got off the Sapphire a week ago (Mexican Riviera). We were in Dolphin 201/203 and our cabin steward just opened it and there was a hook to hold the door back so it wouldn't swing back and forth. Worked great! Enjoy your cruise!