I'll take a big balcony with a side of cabin please

I'm one of those cruisers who probably would never cruise in a cabin without a balcony. Don't get me wrong though, if someone said it's an inside cabin or nothing my answer will be "Book It!" Part of cruising for me is watching the water and enjoying the solitude all while imagining the world happening below us under those waves. If I ever sail in an Oceanview cabin, all of my cruise pictures will be of me with a giant bruise on my forehead for getting too close to the window and bonking my head repeatedly. Now granted, a New England/Canada cruise in October was probably not the best itinerary choice for someone who wanted to use a semi covered balcony as much as it should be enjoyed. It's a good thing I was born and raised in the Mid-Atlantic area so I only got mild hypothermia from the winds during Sail Away on the balcony. 

As I mentioned before, the two Sky Suites balconies on this portion of Deck 18 are the only cabin balconies and thus literally butt up against each other. This is the front end of the balcony with lounge chairs that face the MUTS screen. That door on the wall side of the partition stays locked unless you have booked both Sky Suites and want to have access to both balconies. If you are that person, can we be friends? I'm cute, funny, and occasionally not above graveling. That large bin in front of the partition is where the balcony's towels and pillows get stored at evening turndown. There is a second one at the other end of the balcony. All of the furniture is nicely cushioned but does stay damp if you've had more than a little bit of rain. 

The view of MUTS and the Lido deck pools from these loungers. No issue hearing or seeing a movie or sports game when you want to. Perhaps an even better one simply for the fact that you don't have to lean your head back and look up at the screen from below. It's also a great perspective for Sail Away because the dancers and Cruise Activity Staff engage the crowd by the pool closer to the screen and from the deck right below the deck where the MUTS screen is located. 

As you leave the loungers in front of the MUTS screen, the balcony curves

Looking back toward the side of the ship. Wouldn't that make a nice secret viewing deck? Oh wait, it is because it is all still your Sky Suite balcony! The large framed glass that looks like a door is actually the large windows looking into my bedroom. 

Watch your step here as you move from the MUTS loungers to the space in front of the window. On Sky Princess, there's a door from the elevator lobby right where that circle is at the top. It remains locked unless you choose to unlock it from the balcony side to let someone in. The belief is that you can have visitors come hang out on your balcony without having to pass through your cabin. When Enchanted Princess was built, they rethought that feature. There is no door there on this ship but if you look closely, you can see the outline of one in the white wall.

If you look at the top right of this picture where the pipes connect to the wall this window is on, that is where an access door is on Sky Princess.

Come on now, we've only seen 1/3rd of the balcony thus far. Let's continue walking past the bedroom window.

But don't forget how far you've come

Here at the corner where the balcony starts to turn around to the side of the ship is your personal full size dining table. Remember the one that was inside the living space? Well you get one on your balcony as well! This is where the included Deluxe BALCONY Breakfast and the Ultimate BALCONY Dinner become major selling points because they get served at this table while you can enjoy the view. Unless that is you're on a New England/Canada cruise in October where random cold and rain became skipping ports to outrun a storm on our Ultimate Balcony Dinner evening. And of course any other al fresco dining you may desire. I've heard other cruisers report skipping being in the restaurant and having their specialty dining meal served here. If the weather had been on our side, I would have gladly taken snacks and room service out to this balcony table.

Okay now, no time for eating right now. Let's continue walking around this balcony. Here is a great shot showing how the balcony is half covered. The door to the near right in this photo is the door leading to the main bedroom. I did get to enjoy some balcony entertainment one evening watching those chairs travel from the middle of the balcony to where only the dining table being there stopped them during an incredibly rocky night. 

Between the two sets of planters is the larger door leading to the main living space. Just after the further set of planters is the door leading to the second bedroom. If you only looked at the door placements from the balcony side, you could be fooled into thinking the cabin itself must be super small. 

Need a break to rest a spell? Take a seat at these two chairs and enjoy the view.

Okay that's enough, we have another third of the balcony to see!

As we work our way around the side of the ship we encounter more lounge style seating. This is the section of the balcony that shares space with the Retreat Deck. Those semi opaque partitions that we saw at the beginning now mark where your balcony ends and the Retreat Deck starts. There are tiny slats in between that one might peek through from the Retreat Deck side but to see over the divider, you'd have to be over 6 feet tall or just able to jump high for quick glances. 

It wasn't until the last day but I did finally get to go outside and embrace my inner child on this swiveling clamshell lounger. The taller than the partitions structure peeking out in the back of this photo is the first little free for use trellis style cabana that sits on the Retreat Deck. Basically just two lounge chairs moved to sit under the trellis structure but if you're looking for two loungers five feet away from the other loungers and some interesting striped tan lines, go for it!

You also get two other padded lounge chairs back here like the ones in front of MUTS so there's plenty of balcony seating for all of the potential Sky Suite passenger capacity. 

The box to hold this section's pillows and towels is hidden behind the clamshell lounger.

Just in case you want to do something more than sunbathe outside, you can choose to make your own Movies Under the Stars experience and watch something on your outdoor TV. In that tallest cabinet on the left is the second refrigerator for the cabin. This one is more like the standard refrigerator in every cabin. With how little the weather let us use this balcony, we never really noticed that this fridge was stocked with plenty of water bottles. Could have saved myself the effort of trying to remember to slip one at a time into the packed drink fridge to start getting cold.

I'm not sure if this was considered a personal commentary about me because it doesn't take long after meeting me to think I have two screws loose but umm, shouldn't these parts I found in the outdoor cabinet be attached to something? Brought up flashbacks of all the assembly required furniture I've had to put together recently.

For those who asked about how the sound is on your balcony - we did open our main cabin door to the inside hallway if there was an announcement we wanted to hear more clearly but you should have no problem hearing while outside.

For the final notes about this balcony, I will share what is a feature I've never experienced on a cruise ship balcony. That is, the ability to come and go from your balcony without having to pass through the cabin first. While the brown exit door disappeared between Sky Princess and Enchanted Princess constructions, this feature remained. Between the partition panel that is attached to the wall in the photo below and the thinner panel is a full door. 

In all the reviews, mostly focused on Sky Princess, I read that this door that leads from your balcony onto the Retreat Deck and back onto your balcony if you so choose, has a coded lock. You are given the code and that is how other random passengers are prevented from opening the door themselves to hang out on your balcony. 

This is what we had on the balcony side of our door - a turning rectangular knob. Fairly easy to turn and rotate but it took several back and forth rotations to find a movement that didn't let the door still open. If this knob wasn't put back correctly in the locking position, anyone wandering by the other side could push it open and walk right in. I wasn't sure if those white marks on the knob (wasn't chrome like the handle) were paint drips or rust/mold that could indicate an issue with the lock not working properly.

This is what the door looked like on the Retreat Deck side. No code pad, no key lock, no reserved/private access sign or anything. If I was someone just walking by, I'm not sure I'd automatically recognize it as a private space that I wasn't allowed to access. Also makes me wonder how those past Sky Suite cruisers who wrote about slipping out in the evenings to use the deserted Retreat Deck hot tubs were able to keep the space secure and still get back in through this door. Did you always bring a skinny friend to tag along so they could slide under the partitions to turn the knob?

View of the Retreat Deck from the Sky Suite balcony doorway:

The opening at the right edge of this picture is where you head in to go from the Retreat Deck to the elevator lobby outside the Sky Suite's main cabin doors. The first hot tubs are just around the corner in front of that trellis cabana. Not that much of a walk and yes, you could always stay in view but I would have expected something with more security. And of course, each balcony access door leading to the cabin I instinctively lock after coming back inside so if there ever was an issue, the balcony was as far as they'd get. 

Locking issues aside, this is a wonderful balcony for someone like me who is equally as happy sitting in a lounger watching the waves as I am exploring the ports or taking advantage of trying new foods that I didn't have to cook or clean up afterwards. And boy, did we ever eat our way through this week on board! 

While there was only the two of us and weather kept us from enjoying the main uses of such a spacious balcony, I look forward to trying for more balcony time in the future. Fingers crossed that we will soon have another countdown for a longer cruise with a warmer climate!