Balconies, just how private are they? I've heard that the dividers are removable so are they just flimsy pieces of plastic that dived the balconies? I've heard that you can smell smoke from a balcony next door, and I've heard that you can overhear conversations from balcony's next door. Can you literally see around onto someone else's balcony?

They are not thin plastic or removable by passengers.

Yes ypu can smell smoke if someone is smoking next door.

Yes you can hear people talking nest door.

If you hang over the railing and tried to you could look into the next balcony.

I can't say that has ever been a real problem though.

Balconies are private for sitting and reading and watching the sea go by. I agree that you will smell smoke and hear conversations. But you will most likely not be on the balcony the same time as your next door cruisers.
My mother and I actually got locked out on our balcony. The lock just wasn’t 100% over into the unlocked position and the latch wouldn’t budge once the door was shut behind us. Luckily others were enjoying their balcony a few doors down and heard our cries for help. Good God…..we were about to be late for supper so it was a serious situation. Someone called Eddie our cabin steward. Well poor old Eddie was in hysterics he could hardly find the strength to unlock our balcony door.
And for those who are shaking their heads about two mature women managing to get locked out on a balcony….only half the bottle of wine had been drunk.
Such wonderful memories.

What a great story. That'll be one that gets talked about for a long time. Do you remember when..........?

The standard cruise ship balcony is about as private as a bathroom stall in a McDonalds. You might not be able to see who's next to you, but, I wouldn't say or do anything that you wouldn't want anyone else to know about.

eeewwwwwweeeee
That is a crappy analogy.

As most of the replies stated the balconies are not the most private of places. But understand that the reason to have a balcony is not for the privacy but for the fantastic views they afford. I will step out on it in the middle of the night just to smell the sea air and here the ocean go by. Mt wife and I get up early every morning and order room service coffee and danish. There is no better way to wake up. A balcony is the only way to cruise. One of my favorite sayings is you can't do this in your back yard. Enjoy your balcony.

great for picture taking.....

On our last cruise on the Spirit, the cabin next to us let the outside light on all night. It ruined the "night air" plus we usually had to pull the curtains so we could sleep.

The balconies have lights? I did not know that. I am not a pushy person but I believe I would have asked the next door cabin to turn off the light.
I also enjoy the night views on the balcony. Best memories include sailing through a thick fog at night and also seeing a horrendous lightning storm over Cuba on our way back to Florida. A light on next door would ruin the "night air" for me too.

Remember, the glass is reflective. If you are out there at night, and the neighbors have the light on in the cabin, and they are on their balcony, you can see their reflection in the glass. This was not a good thing last week....

yes, the balconies have lights. (at least on the CCL ships, but I imagine most ships have the lights) There is a switch inside the cabin to turn it on and off. I would bet that most people did not know the light could be turned on and off and that is why gdjoslin had a problem. I would have had to call the cabin and ask if they could turn it off as it had to bother them as well.

gschon23- I think you were trying a bit too hard to see things if you are using the reflections in the glass to see next door...

Hi everybody

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quote:

yes, the balconies have lights. (at least on the CCL ships, but I imagine most ships have the lights) There is a switch inside the cabin to turn it on and off. I would bet that most people did not know the light could be turned on and off and that is why gdjoslin had a problem. I would have had to call the cabin and ask if they could turn it off as it had to bother them as well.

We never saw the people next door, we put a note under to door and talked to the Cabin Streart about it... the light remained on most of the cruise.

...actually, i was trying hard to make noise so they would sober up and go inside.....

Depends on the ship. Most of them, yes. I wouldnt hold any private conversations or anything like that out there. Shouldnt be a problem though, on our last cruise the sounds of the waves were so loud splashing up against the ship that we barely heard our neighbors talking. On a previous cruise we liked our neighbors so much we asked for the divider to be taken down. LOL

cruising_lee, Welcome to C-C !