One Royal Caribbean cruiser received backlash from social media when she asked her followers on TikTok whether a railing near her cabin’s balcony should be considered an obstruction.
The TikTok creator, abbiesnormal, posted to social media from her cruise on Royal Caribbean’s brand-new Icon of the Seas. In the viral video - which has been viewed over 1.5 million times - Abbie asks, “Should this be considered an obstructed view?”
In the clip, the video shows the user’s view from her standard balcony cabin. As she pans around, she shows the view below her balcony. The footage shows a railing located directly below, although the ocean itself can still be seen clearly.
“Here’s this rail. It goes all the way down... All the way down. So, [when] you sit on your balcony, you should - with an unobstructed view - be able to see right down to the ocean. But, you can’t. It’s obstructed about a foot or so,” says Abbie in the controversial TikTok.
Within the comments, Abbie shares how the railing goes all around the 12th deck, insinuating that all balcony cabins on the 12th deck have this railing. She also responded to one commenter, “[The rail] is in the way. I love the sound of the ocean so much and being able to go on my balcony with just me and my husband, listening to the waves.”
The railing appears to be installed as a safety measure by the cruise line. Abbie shared with viewers that the railing supposedly holds a window cleaner for the windows on deck 11.
However, the TikToker claims she didn’t realize her cabin would have this "obstruction" when she booked the cabin since the ship was brand-new.
Abbie continues to share how the obstructed railing “messes up” the ocean view especially in the evening. In particular, Abbie says how she likes to see the ocean view in the evenings because it’s really pretty at night. Unfortunately, the TikToker feels that the railing obstructs her night view of the ocean while the ship is sailing in the dark.
According to comments on the video, Abbie is cruising in cabin 12608, located on deck 12. Royal Caribbean has this cabin classified on Icon of the Seas as an Ocean View Balcony Stateroom.
The vast majority of the comments strongly disagreed with the TikToker, assuring the cruiser that her balcony cabin is not obstructed
While Abbie might have been looking for validation, almost every commenter disagreed with her opinion on the balcony being obstructed.
“I can’t imagine being on such an amazing vacation and complaining about an imaginary obstruction in your perfect view,” replied one user. Multiple comments asked if the video was a joke.
Many followers assured Abbie that her balcony view is not obstructed in the slightest, commenting that obstructed balconies mean you can’t see the ocean or you can only see half of it.
Others could not believe the TikToker was complaining about the safety railing blocking the downward view of the balcony. “I can’t believe someone would COMPLAIN about that view,” said one user. Another responded, “Pretty sure most people don’t think straight down is the view.”
“Honey, the ocean is pitch black at night,” vocalized one user on TikTok, responding to Abbie’s remark that she can’t see the ocean at night from her balcony due to the railing.
In fact, the TikToker posted a series of videos on the social media platform asking followers if the balcony was obstructed
The TikToker has shared three videos about her experience staying in a balcony on Icon of the Seas. The first video shows the balcony’s view at night, while the second shares the view in the daytime. Finally, Abbie tries to make her point by sharing the balcony view from her previous cruise on Ovation of the Seas to draw comparison.
In the first TikTok, Abbie filmed the view of her balcony, asking followers if the balcony should be considered obstructed because of the railing. The video of her balcony’s view is taken at night, with the horizon of the sea being difficult to see.
The caption of the video says, “Should this rail be considered an obstruction on my balcony?”
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That TiKTok, which was posted back in February, has nearly 50k views and 125 comments. However, commenters still vehemently disagreed with the TikToker, stating that she was being "delusional."
Based on the comment section, it appears the TikToker did not receive the support and affirmation that she was looking for.
“No. Hope this helps,” responded one user to Abbie’s caption asking followers if her view was obstructed.
“I wish my life was so easy and comfy that I had to invent drama like this,” said another. One person shared, “This is like asking if a flower box is obstructing the view of a window.”
As a response to the first TikTok filmed in the evening, Abbie posted the second, now-viral video. “So in my last video, you said it was too dark to be able to tell. So, this is the balcony,” she states in her TikTok.
In the final TikTok, Abbie shares a photo from a balcony stateroom on Ovation of the Seas. In the photo, you can see the view of the ocean on the horizon from inside the balcony stateroom. The video is in response to one commenter disagreeing with her opinion.
“Notice how there is no foot wide block holding the rail outside the bottom of my balcony,” captioned Abbie on the photo. She shares with followers that she would not consider this cabin on Ovation of the Seas to be obstructed, noting how the view “does not have the 12-inch white block obstructing the view.”
The video received the same response from followers, with almost every person disagreeing with Abbie about the obstruction. “That is still not an obstruction. Saying a bar is blocking your view DOWN is insane,” wrote one user.
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Is the view obstructed?
On a cruise ship, certain cabins might have an obstructed ocean view due to the location of the stateroom on the ship. Most of the time, the obstruction is typically a lifeboat, which can block a signifiant portion of your cabin’s view.
However, obstructions can vary and be unique to each stateroom. When booking an obstructed view balcony, you will still have the benefit of receiving the same view and amenities as standard cabins. Additionally, you will normally pay a lower cruise fare when you stay in an obstructed balcony.
According to Royal Caribbean, “An obstruction is something the blocks a proportion of the direct outward view from a stateroom. This is typically due the position of lifeboats or the outer structure of the ship.”
Based on this definition, Abbie’s balcony would not be considered obstructed because the outward view of the ship is not blocked. Considering the safety railing is only visible when looking downward, this wouldn’t be classified as an obstructed balcony.
Allie Hubers
Allie Hubers has been cruising since she was a tiny toddler. What started as a yearly vacation with family quickly turned into a passion for travel, cruising and adventure. Allie's been on nearly 30 cruises all over the world. She even studied abroad on Semester at Sea, sailing the world on a ship while taking courses for college and visiting 4 continents.
