Virtual or the real thing…which balcony will you go for on board Anthem of the Seas

Following on from my blog last week about the exciting new features on board Anthem of the Seas one I didn’t mention was the Virtual balcony cabins!  With the Anthem of the Seas going on sale yesterday I have been asked a number of times “what is a virtual balcony cabin?”….well it’s just that…a cabin that looks like a balcony cabin but isn’t really!

One of the concerns from some of my customers when booking an inside cabin is that they will feel claustrophobic, that they will feel closed in.  Another comes from parents with toddlers who are nervous of the balcony with small children. I’ve got a very active 2 year old and I must admit the thought of a balcony does make me nervous even though I know she would be perfectly safe. Have you always booked an inside cabin and wanted a balcony cabin and haven’t been able to justify the extra costs. Well Royal Caribbean have come up with a fantastic concept..the virtual balcony.

If anyone has cruised before with Disney they may have seen something similar but on a much smaller scale. Disney introduced “magical portholes” which also give a view of outside in real- time. So although Royal Caribbean aren’t the first to install this kind of technology onto their cruise ships they have done it on a much larger scale, filling the full wall instead of just the port hole.

So what do you get when you book one of these cabins. The virtual balconies will be an 80-inch LED projection screen that stretches from floor to ceiling. They will offer real-time views of the ocean and destinations visible from outside.  It will be displayed on the wall of stateroom that would usually be an ordinary looking inside cabin and it will work at sea and in port. So you can watch the sunrise or the sun set from the comfort of your cabin!

Now I know you can’t your open your balcony doors and sit out and enjoy the sea air as you would expect to booking a traditional balcony cabin, but with your virtual balcony view and a little imagination you can be out there just the same!

What do you think, would you like to try a virtual balcony cabin in exchange for your real balcony? Can you tell the difference from the photos? I’d love to hear your views.