bigr Posted September 16, 2015 Report Share Posted September 16, 2015 Tried to book seven adjacent balcony cabins today and wanted to double check with Royal Caribbean that all seven paritions along the balcony could be opened. The rep said that the cruise line does not allow any partitions on any of their ships to be opened anymore. I explained that we might need to consider another cruise line if that is the case. She really didn't care. Wow! What is that all about? The seven couples always enjoy having the partitions opened so we can have a private balcony amongst ourselves. When I called RC two weeks ago, they said no problem. So I went through all the trouble of picking a cruise, cabins, etc with my travel agent for the group and now this! Has anyone else had this experience with Royal Caribbean? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted September 16, 2015 Report Share Posted September 16, 2015 I'm not sure if the ability to open the balcony partitions is particular to specific ship classes or not, but I know for sure that at a minimum, SOME balcony partitions can be opened. I've seen plentry of photos of adjoining balconies with open partitions. I am surprised and disappointed to hear that you got an apathetic (at best) customer service representative on the line. It's that kind of "help" that causes so much angst with new cruisers or those not familiar with RCI's normally very helpful service. I hope you are able to get staterooms that meet your specific needs. If you don't get satisfaction by calling directly to RCI I recommend you get Michelle at MEI to help you. She is so great with groups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigr Posted September 16, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2015 WAAAYTOO, thanks for the reply. The rep told me no partitions on any of the Royal Caribbean ships can be opened anymore. When our TA was booking the cabins, the RC rep told her they did not open the partitions. That's why I called to see if perhaps our TA just had a rep that was not sure. We were booking on the Oasis. We have always had the partitions opened for us on both Princess and Celebrity and I know Royal Caribbean used to do it as well. We thought we would go back to cruising on Royal Caribbean but this would be a deal breaker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted September 17, 2015 Report Share Posted September 17, 2015 Well, that's a shame if it's true. Why in the world would they refuse to open partitions that are designed to be opened. Will be interested to find out what happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted September 17, 2015 Report Share Posted September 17, 2015 Here's a blog post all about opening up the balcony partitions on a Royal Caribbean cruise! http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2014/12/30/royal-caribbean-secrets-opening-the-balcony-dividers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigr Posted September 17, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2015 Talked with Royal Caribbean once more today and she read to me that their official policy now (versus the past), is that all partitions are to remain closed for safety reasons since the parttions cannot be locked in the open position. Captains can make exceptions but we will not know until we board the ship. Wow! Sounds like a lawyer's dream come true - captains violating the company safety policy. Perhaps this policy hasn't been well thought through!! In any case, we are moving over to Princess or Celebrity (which interestingly enough is owned by RC) where we know the partitions can be opened. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted September 17, 2015 Report Share Posted September 17, 2015 Ok...well I guess this has all changed then. What a shame. Those open balconies on adjoining cabins makes such a nice big space. Too bad. ...and of course, you're right. What Ship's captain in his right mind would violate company policy on a [presumed] safety issue ! Enjoy your cruise and thanks for letting us know about this change. Sounds like Matt may need to do an updated post. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted September 17, 2015 Report Share Posted September 17, 2015 Regardless of what they told you over the phone, I would still ask when you get onboard. Worst thing they will say is no! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigr Posted September 17, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2015 Matt, I am guessing you are probably right, that once we are onboard, they would open the partitions. But since this is such a hit having our own 'private balcony' amongst the 13 of us, looks like we have decided to go with Celebrity which has straight up told us no problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobroo Posted September 20, 2015 Report Share Posted September 20, 2015 Or, you could decide to go "rogue".... http://www.ebay.com/itm/Drawer-Cabinet-Security-8mm-Triangle-Spanner-Key-54mm-Long-wt-/281704816605?hash=item4196ea5fdd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted September 20, 2015 Report Share Posted September 20, 2015 Or, you could decide to go "rogue".... http://www.ebay.com/itm/Drawer-Cabinet-Security-8mm-Triangle-Spanner-Key-54mm-Long-wt-/281704816605?hash=item4196ea5fdd I think you're going for the laugh but in all seriousness, I would not recommend this route. But I did get a good chuckle out of the idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelscruiser Posted September 21, 2015 Report Share Posted September 21, 2015 When my family and I had a group of three balcony cabins on Liberty of the Seas in December 2014, we were able to open the partitions. I hope that they allow us to do it again as it was nice and really added space. Matt 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted September 21, 2015 Report Share Posted September 21, 2015 When my family and I had a group of three balcony cabins on Liberty of the Seas in December 2014, we were able to open the partitions. I hope that they allow us to do it again as it was nice and really added space. That must have been quite nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NY Cruiser19 Posted September 21, 2015 Report Share Posted September 21, 2015 On Quantum we had ajoining staterooms and when we got onboard the balcony dividers were already opened by the stateroom attendant. Later that same cruise I was on line at guest services and the people in front of me wanted the same thing but their stateroom attendant wouldn't do it. Didn't hear the rest of the conversation so don't know what happened. But the moral is it depends on the stateroom attendant.(On Quantum at least) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigburlyjohn Posted October 15, 2015 Report Share Posted October 15, 2015 Tool to open windows in ocean view staterooms ;-) http://www.lowes.com/pd_420259-42268-MD-4F-K+34120_1z11pb1__?productId=50041776&pl=1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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