8 Days of a Virtual Balcony

[Malcolm, Essex]

8 days of Virtual Balcony Views on Quantum of the Seas | Royal Caribbean Blog

Innovation or gimmick?

[cymrucruiser]

hawkinsmg

we moved from an area with heavy air pollution [staines] to the south coast rural area and you notice the fresh air, could not go back to living in heavy air pollution, but you do not notice the difference till you move away.

the view has to be the real thing not a digital image.

Absolutely agree. I think it's a clever idea but it just wouldn't do it for us.

[DUETTO, Staines]

hawkinsmg

we moved from an area with heavy air pollution [staines] to the south coast rural area and you notice the fresh air, could not go back to living in heavy air pollution, but you do not notice the difference till you move away.

the view has to be the real thing not a digital image.

[cymrucruiser]

a gimmick, a balcony is not only the view, It is access to fresh air to help prevent dry throat / cough etc from dry air con, also the ambiance of sitting out on the balcony watching the world go by and the breeze. watching on a large digital screen for us would not be the same.

only good point no worries of getting a chain smoking cigar user next cabin and all his smoke blowing in, had this once on the Oriana and staff could do nothing about it really spoilt our balcony.

This is what I was trying to say,

[cymrucruiser]

Don't mind insides, as has been said often before, prefer more cruises to having a bigger cabin and am never in the cabin anyhow. The virtual balcony may make the room feel bigger and be a novelty for a week or so but then that is probably it. As for needing to open the balcony to see what the weather is like, luckily I can see the webcam and understand weather reports.
Can't see that the virtual balcony is anything more than a larger version of the webcam.

Right back at ya Andy haha lol but my comment stems more from the fresh air point of view. We live in the country spend little time indoors and if say for example deck access was banned due to weather I would go stir crazy if I couldn't stick my head out for a quick gasp of fresh air. I love to sit on my balcony first thing in the morning when all the others are still asleep. I'd get told off for making too much noise if I got dressed to go out the cabin and up on deck. I'd feel claustrophobic in an inside. Wish I could cope with them as I could then afford more cruises.

[Fred Bloggs, Tyne and Wear]

Very clever! I certainly would like that, not only seeing what the weather is like but also creating light & an illusion of space. Much better than a telly!

[hat776, malta]

You would think that it is possible to design a ship with all outside cabins. Even a big ship.

The public rooms, in some case, could be internal.

I miss the 'old fashioned' ships that had most public rooms with lovely large windows. I'm not at all keen on having lounges or bars being internal. We often have breakfast and lunch in the MDR and choose a table next to a window.

[DUETTO, Staines]

a gimmick, a balcony is not only the view, It is access to fresh air to help prevent dry throat / cough etc from dry air con, also the ambiance of sitting out on the balcony watching the world go by and the breeze. watching on a large digital screen for us would not be the same.

only good point no worries of getting a chain smoking cigar user next cabin and all his smoke blowing in, had this once on the Oriana and staff could do nothing about it really spoilt our balcony.

[Bigsis, Waterlooville]

I think it's a great idea and would happily book a cabin with a virtual balcony though saying that, we haven't cruised with RCL as yet. Don't mind inside cabins and I always look at the webcam channel on the TV as a mini sea view anyway

[Harvey, Bristol upon Cream]

You would think that it is possible to design a ship with all outside cabins. Even a big ship.

The public rooms, in some case, could be internal.

Silversea ships have all outside cabins.

[Guy, Ormskirk]

I think it a great idea, why not have a nice bright image instead of a blank wall. I can't see any downside to having this in the cabin and beats watching the action on a small television..Carol

[dst87, Falkirk]

Is there any other functionality to the screen ie does it double up as a very large telly?

I think its really novel though.

No additional functionality whatsoever. In an interview about these Richard Fain said that adding anything else would shatter any illusion and ruin the effect. It has to be 100% webcam, 100% of the time.

[Bradbury, Coventry]

Is there any other functionality to the screen ie does it double up as a very large telly?

I think its really novel though.

[Harvey, Bristol upon Cream]

I think it's a great innovation.

It would be the only facility to tempt me away from a balcony cabin to an inside cabin. Then again - maybe not.

H

[andyn, Bucks]

Don't mind insides, as has been said often before, prefer more cruises to having a bigger cabin and am never in the cabin anyhow. The virtual balcony may make the room feel bigger and be a novelty for a week or so but then that is probably it. As for needing to open the balcony to see what the weather is like, luckily I can see the webcam and understand weather reports.
Can't see that the virtual balcony is anything more than a larger version of the webcam.