I set out to book the Virtual Balcony, Royal Caribbean’s twist on the interior. Really, I didn’t. I was just looking for an affordable room for my weeklong cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Odyssey of the Seas. When I called to make a reservation, all the standard interior cabins were sold out.
The next cheapest was the Virtual Balcony, so I went for it, figuring it would be fun to get one for myself.
But what is a Virtual Balcony, and what are the advantages and disadvantages of booking this interesting type of accommodation? Let me tell you what I learned.
What is a Virtual Balcony cabin?
The Virtual Balcony is Royal Caribbean’s answer to passengers who want the accessibility of an interior cabin but with a view – even if it’s not a real one.
Visual Balconies are inside cabins with no real windows. Instead, a floor-to-ceiling screen (which Royal Caribbean says is high-definition) takes up about one-third of the cabin’s walls and streams real-time video to make it seem like you have a balcony with a view. .
Royal Caribbean is not the first cruise line to adopt this concept – Disney Cruise Line introduced Magic Portholes on the Disney Dream in 2011. However, the first and only line is to do it in a way that simulates a balcony view instead of a view. through a small window. The addition of the Virtual Balcony adds another option to the already existing list of cabin types available on Royal Caribbean ships.
Which cruise ships have Virtual Balcony cabins?
Royal Caribbean ships with Virtual Balcony cabins include:
What are the balcony cabins like?
Some Virtual Balcony rooms are set up like regular cabins, with the beds facing so that your feet are facing the cabin door and the balcony screen is to one side. Another setup – which I had on my cruise – is very true to the traditional balcony. In this version, the beds are placed so that your head faces one side wall, and your feet face the other side with a “balcony” wall on the wall opposite the entrance to the main house.
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All Virtual Balcony accommodations include a king bed that converts to two twins; bedside tables with lamps; raised chair or sofa, depending on the size of the cabin; vanity with chair, electrical outlets and mirror; plenty of storage space in the form of drawers, shelves and clothes hangers; mini safe, hair dryer and mini fridge; and a walk-in closet bathroom with shower, toilet, vanity and sink combination, and shelves for storing toiletries.
My travel companion and I had a good laugh at the new “balcony view” story — a shifting image of the unsightly bay of Bayonne, New Jersey, with an image of a balcony superimposed on it — for the first time. 10 minutes or so after we boarded. Then, we quickly forgot it was there as we settled down and started to unwind. Because our room was quite warm when we arrived, I was pleased to find that the screen didn’t turn off the heat.
Later that day, after dinner, we returned to our (very cool) room to find an eerie sight: darkness with white streaks, like television fuzz, with the same picture of a brown deck above. Because the quality of the camera used to take the picture was too low, it could not take clear pictures after sunset.
We looked for the switch to turn it off and, after a few minutes, found the controls on our indoor TV. After dark, it looks like a giant TV turned upside down.
Then we closed the curtains on both sides of the screen to hide it.
A few days later, after we had all but forgotten about the Virtual Balcony, we decided to open it again. The TV controls were not responding, so I asked our house manager for help. He told us that sometimes the TV controls don’t work; instead, we had to point the TV remote at the balcony screen and press the power button.
We also noticed that the TV had volume controls on the balcony. Once we got our “idea” back, we tried to play with them. That caused a very low hissing sound; we could not tell if it was still or the sound of the rushing waves, as it was a sea day. Royal Caribbean missed an opportunity to offer some sort of relaxing white noise to passengers as an added benefit when they’re ready to sleep.
How big are the Virtual Balcony rooms?
Virtual Balcony cabin sizes vary by ship but range from 160 to 258 square feet – the same size as standard inside cabins. Depending on the ship, these cabins can accommodate two to four passengers; they do that with a king bed that can convert to two twins if requested or a king bed/twin bed combination and a double pull out sofa bed.
How much do Virtual Balcony cabins cost?
Generally, Virtual Balcony fares are less expensive than regular indoor cabins by several hundred dollars; however, they cost less than what you would get for a room with a real balcony. Fares vary by ship, sailing date, itinerary and length of voyage.
On my seven-night Bahamas cruise on the three-year-old Odyssey of the Seas, I paid $1,062.45 per person, including taxes and fees, for my Virtual Balcony cabin. This seemed to be the average when I checked the prices on several sails.
What else should I know about virtual balconies?
Booking a Virtual Balcony cabin does not get you additional benefits.
Most ships that offer Virtual Balcony cabins are specifically marked as accessible, with extra square footage, portholes, wide doorways, lowered cabin rails, walk-in showers with benches and grab bars, and lowered sinks and toilets.
Bottom line: Is Virtual Balcony right for you?
For me, the Virtual Balcony cabin was not worth the extra cost, as there was no other gain or additional space. Daytime viewing was very good, and nighttime viewing was poor, thanks to the low-quality camera used to capture the video.
In the end, the screen was an unnecessary addition that did little to convince me that I wasn’t indoors, especially since we had no access to fresh air. It was one of those accessories that I immediately looked at when I first got on board, said, “Oh, that’s cool,” and promptly forgot about it.
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