Jump to content

Let's talk Symphony Balconies


SpeedNoodles

Recommended Posts

We're booked on midship deck 12 for a standard Ocean-View Balcony stateroom.  Now I'm kind of mulling it over and thinking that we are probably just so far away from, well, everything.  Talk to me about Balconies on Decks 6 and 8 (Boardwalk level/Central Park level).  I assume they are convenient to most areas except the pools.  What about noise? I originally turned down one on Deck 6 because I just automatically thought it would be a loud/busy region.  So tonight, as I do most nights at work this time of year when there's absolutely nothing to do after midnight and I have about 7 full hours to contemplate my life, I started rethinking my Symphony plan.  Yes, I know it can be a lot of "personal preference", but only those who have stayed near the public areas know if they are comfortable or chaotic.  Deck 6 is above the jogging track - better than under it, but still?  Indulge me ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On Harmony OTS we had a balcony mid-ship deck 14...it's actually quite a bit of walking if you are going to and from the room a lot (not that it was a problem for us, just an observation). For Symphony we are trying a boardwalk balcony for something different. Also, it comes with free soda packages and dinner at johnny rockets. Not sure if it will be any better from a location perspective but the stairs/lift are a lot closer this time.

  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

55 minutes ago, SpeedNoodles said:

We're booked on deck 12 for a standard Ocean-View Balcony stateroom.  Now I'm kind of mulling it over and thinking that we are probably just so far away from, well, everything.  Talk to me about Balconies on Decks 6 and 8 (Boardwalk level/Central Park level).  I assume they are convenient to most areas except the pools.  What about noise? I originally turned down one on Deck 6 because I just automatically thought it would be a loud/busy region.  So tonight, as I do most nights at work this time of year when there's absolutely nothing to do after midnight and I have about 7 full hours to contemplate my life, I started rethinking my Symphony plan.  Yes, I know it can be a lot of "personal preference", but only those who have stayed near the public areas know if they are comfortable or chaotic.  Deck 6 is above the jogging track - better than under it, but still?  Indulge me ?

Funnily enough I was thinking the same last night. We are booked on Harmony on a mid ship ocean view balcony on deck 11 and was looking at deck 6/7 for the same reasons. Looking forward to peoples replies.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We sailed on Allure in a deck 8 ocean balcony and loved the convenience of being an easy walk to central park. We were close to the forward stairs/elevators which I was nervous about at first, but it was never an issue. The location was very quiet and it was awesome being so close to the Park Cafe and Trellis Bar. We liked the location so much we booked deck 8 again for Symphony next year. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Trying Boardwalk Balcony on Symphony in 3 weeks so can report back.  They look like fun if you like to people watch.  From what I've seen in photos you can see the ocean but it's not a great view as the Abyss is there.  Doesn't bother us but in case that's a factor. As mentioned the rest on also comes with 2 soda packages, lunch at Johnny Rockets and rock wall session.  Central Park rooms cone with bottle of wine a d lunch for 2 at Italian place (confirm latter)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

41 minutes ago, WannaCruise said:

Trying Boardwalk Balcony on Symphony in 3 weeks so can report back.  They look like fun if you like to people watch.  From what I've seen in photos you can see the ocean but it's not a great view as the Abyss is there.  Doesn't bother us but in case that's a factor. As mentioned the rest on also comes with 2 soda packages, lunch at Johnny Rockets and rock wall session.  Central Park rooms cone with bottle of wine a d lunch for 2 at Italian place (confirm latter)

I'm just considering an ocean view balcony still, but on a different deck - they are on the back side of some of the bars/restaurants and I'm just not sure how loud they'd be.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, SpeedNoodles said:

Talk to me about Balconies on Decks 6 and 8 (Boardwalk level/Central Park level).?

The deck 6 aft balconies near the entrance to the Boardwalk and Promenade are an amazing location. We spent two weeks on board Allure for our honeymoon in 6668 (right at that junction) and it was an amazing easy walk anywhere, or and easy stop out to the Schooner Bar to grab a glass of wine and head back out to our balcony for some peace and quiet. You're also only steps away from the amenities of two major neighborhoods, so again easy if you just needed to run out and grab something or swing back by the room to drop something off. It was also an easy enough walk to most places on the ship, though if we wanted to go up to the Windjammer or pools we'd usually give up and take an elevator for that one. 

We're booked in Allure again coming up in September in the same area, and I'm pretty happy about it. Can't recommend this area enough. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On any Oasis class, you will be walking somewhere. Activities and events are all over the ship.  Some forward, some aft, some up, some down.  It that sense no matter where you stay, you will be walking.

Having said that I do like being not far from the stairs/elevators, either forward or aft.  Given an empty ship and ability to pick anywhere, deck 6 near aft stairs is very convenient.   Deck 8 near aft elevators is another favorite spot.  Love easy access to Central Park and Park Cafe.  Drop down the stairs to reach Boardwalk and Promenade.  

I'd rather walk through Promenade or Central Park to transit forward and aft rather than traversing the cabin halls so a spot close to the stairs is usually high on my list.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, twangster said:

 I'd rather walk through Promenade or Central Park to transit forward and aft rather than traversing the cabin halls so a spot close to the stairs is usually high on my list.

I realize that this is a “mind trick” but it’s so true that walking the exact SAME distance along the Promenade or Central Park seems so much shorter than through the narrow corridors of the cabin maze.  Dan and I just made the same observation this week on Anthem. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, Firefly said:

We sailed on Allure in a deck 8 ocean balcony and loved the convenience of being an easy walk to central park. We were close to the forward stairs/elevators which I was nervous about at first, but it was never an issue. The location was very quiet and it was awesome being so close to the Park Cafe and Trellis Bar. We liked the location so much we booked deck 8 again for Symphony next year. 

+1 on this, we had the same experience, loved the proximity to Central Park and it didn't seem like it was a long walk to any place.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I guess walking in and of itself doesn't bother me so much (remember I'm the one who walked 37 miles during a 4-day Mariner cruise!).  I was just thinking it's more of a time thing (oh, hey, I for got *this random item* and I need to run back to the room).  Thanks for all of your perspectives - I'm going to run them by my husband and see what he wants to do.  He's decided that he wants to do 3-4 cruises a year now - that's a dangerous thing to tell your wife!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, Mondas42 said:

I quite like the fact that we have a walk to the lifts, makes me feel less guilty for the food on board.?

I took the stairs almost always on Mariner for that reason, unless it was from deck 1 to deck 12! But with Symphony being so much bigger, I'm sure that won't be the case quite as frequently.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My thought is that if you are an elevator type person, it's probably BETTER to be on a deck far away from activities. Why? Well for one reason you're far less likely to get dirty looks when you get on and punch a button for the next deck up/down :) Also, let's say you wanna get to activities on Deck 4. If you are on 12, there won't be but maybe 1 deck of people ABOVE you on the elevator by the time it hits your deck, on the way down. It'll be a crapshoot on the way up, but at least for half the time, you'll not wind up looking at 100% jammed full elevators due to being < 3 decks from all the happenings.

If you don't use elevators... well, then sure, get as close as you can (unless you LIKE taking stairs, and then who cares? LOL)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We were on deck 6 front on the Allure last March, cabin 6172 (near the elevators). Found it to be a great location and booked about the same location for dec Oasis cruise. One deck down to Promenade and two decks up to Cental Park, so stairs are a good option. Even two decks from entretainment place, so again, no need to wait for the elevators after a show. Still, elevators were close so solarium and the pool deck was just one elevator ride away. We had the deluxe drink+ultimate dinning-package combo and got some smoothies from Vitality cafe and mostly ate at Central Park, so distance to MDR wasn´t an  issue. There is not that many interior rooms on deck 6, so not that much traffic on the hallway.

The only con of the location I can think of is that our balcony railing glass was quite dirty when we arrived. It got a bit better after it was cleaned by the room attendant. Maybe - just maybe - rough seas will get more salty water to the balconies on the lower decks? (Still on deck 6, so quite high from the sea level).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We were on deck 12 on the Oasis and this is precisely what I didn't like. It felt like we were so far from absolutely EVERYTHING!  Going on the Symphony in April. We're in GTY status with our room right now but I'm willing to pay to upgrade to a closer category if we end up at the top of the ship again!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 months later...
On 2/19/2019 at 1:46 PM, Mondas42 said:

I’ve just moved our room from deck 11 to 8606 on Harmony of the seas, apparently it has a slightly larger balcony as it’s at the beginning of the hump.

How did you find the walk to and from your cabin 8606? Was it a long walk from the elevators? We have a 3yr old and a baby - not sure if that’s a good fit for them, with a stroller, etc.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 2/19/2019 at 1:50 PM, tiny260 said:

+1 on this, we had the same experience, loved the proximity to Central Park and it didn't seem like it was a long walk to any place.

+2 We loved Deck 8 on Oasis and booked deck 8 again on Symphony.  We have cabin 8190 which is supposed to be slightly larger at the end of the hump. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...