I see those vista cabins priced the same as other vista cabins. I saw them on the Shadow, and really took notice of them, since this question has come up before. That "shared balcony" is not accessible to the other passengers...I even went there to find out. It has a doorway at the beginning, just outside one of the lounges from the inside, but you cannot open the door. I peered around the corner, and nothing was going on. No furniture outside or anything. From the tender boat, I saw it also. In these cabins, there is a glass "door" and a slim vertical window next to that. No "picture window" like on the other non-balcony suites. Probably the same amount of glass, just in a different way. It was not the same as a balcony cabin (privacy), but outside your door there is open air!