I recently sailed on the biggest cruise ship to ever sail from Los Angeles, Royal Caribbean's Ovation of the Seas.
If you think all balcony cabins are the same, you might be surprised to know some key differences.
Royal Caribbean invited me to be their guest on a 3-night preview sailing, and I was thrilled when I saw I'd have a balcony room all to myself.
If you're like me, then you find a balcony room is in that sweet spot of value and living space. I don't mind an inside room, but it's usually worth it to me to move up to a balcony for the outdoor verandah and natural light.
While I'm no stranger to a balcony stateroom, I quickly discovered I preferred this style of balcony room over the ones on the world's largest cruise ship because of a few important design choices.
Royal Caribbean invited me on the Ovation of the Seas' complimentary three-night preview sailing
I was assigned one of the ocean-view balcony cabins on deck 11, a few decks away from the buffet.
Balcony rooms are the most common type of stateroom on cruise ships today because of how popular they are with cruisers. They can accommodate up to 4 people, depending on the configuration.
I was assigned cabin 11616, which is a category 2D ocean view balcony room. Royal Caribbean allows to 2 guests in this particular cabin.
There's 198 sq ft of living space, along with 55 sq ft of space on the balcony.
There's more storage than you can use
The sheer amount of storage space in this balcony cabin is impressive, and it's what immediately stood out to me as I walked in.
Quantum Class ships were the first to introduce this look to cabins that continued with newer Oasis Class ships too.
You'll walk past the full length mirror and air conditioning controls as you enter, opening up to the cabin itself.
In this particular cabin, the sofa and vanity are closest to the door, but it alternates with the bed depending on the exact cabin.
The vanity has a desk and chair to sit at, with a mirror and electrical outlets. There are even two hidden USB-A outlets available (you need to lift the guard up to plug in your device).
There was an electric kettle with tea in my cabin, but that might have been the result of the fact the ship had just completed a series of cruises in Asia.
Next to the vanity are drawers, along with a cooler to use to keep drinks or small plates of food.
Across is a sofa. This one does not open up to become a bed, but it was nice to have somewhere to sit.
On either side of the sofa are two giant closets.
One closet is meant to hang garments, while the other has shelves. It also has the safe you can use during your stay.
Even the bed has storage options
Like nearly all cabins, there's a king bed that can be separated into two separate twin beds.
On both sides of the bed are a nightstand, with the nightstand near the balcony having a power outlet.
This ship entered service in 2016 and you can tell fact it has extra power outlets and a few USB outlets represented a shift in stateroom design to begin adding more power options. Cruise ships that debuted just a few years earlier lacked these luxuries.
Each nightstand has a shelf to it, and there are two overhead storage bins above the bed as well.
Even if I was sailing for two weeks on Ovation of the Seas, I seriously doubt I could use all of this space.
The balcony is an oasis to enjoy great views of the ocean
If it's not too hot outside, I love sitting on the balcony to enjoy the views and fresh air.
There's a door to access the balcony, where there are two chairs and a table.
I appreciate there are foot stools provided for each chair, because almost instantly you'll want to put your feet up.
At 55 square feet, there's just enough room for two adults to both enjoy being outside.
The shower is better on Icon, but this is a very close second
Each cabin has its own private bathroom, and it's quite functional.
Bathrooms on cruise ships have evolved a lot over the years, and they've gotten bigger and updated.
The shower is made of glass and it's curved, providing more space for the shower occupant.
I prefer the shower design on Icon of the Seas, but this isn't bad at all.
Once again, there's plenty of storage space along the walls and below the sink for your toiletries.
Final thoughts
After spending a few nights in this room, I think I prefer it over the Icon of the Seas balcony.
Royal Caribbean sought to develop the look of its staterooms on Icon, but I think Ovation's is better.
First, there's significantly more storage space around the room.
It's my opinion that the balcony room on Icon seeks to rely too much on design and gave up some practicalities.
As an example, there are metal bins in the wardrobe that are cumbersome (they make noise as they move in and out), and I don't want my clothes on display.
Plus, there's no over bed storage, and it lacks the amount of closets Ovation has.
Icon of the Seas is still my favorite cruise ship in the fleet, but I'll at least take solace in my cabin with its look and feel.
