Aft balcony cabins--pluses or minuses?

[PantherFan]

Panther, are you implying ships built in the 21st century do not make too much noise? I want to sail on a ship that is less than 10 years old.

 

From the ones I have sailed the answer would be "Yes" But I may be biased since we have cruised on RCI, Disney and one Princess ship. Mainly, RCI.

[quack2]

Also, have you ever heard of a ship backing into an iceberg?

[ActiveTraveler]

Also, have you ever heard of a ship backing into an iceberg?

 

I will be sailing in the Mediterranean, where there are no icebergs for ships to back into the entire cruise. So for better or worse, that question is irrelevant to me.

[operafan]

Also, have you ever heard of a ship backing into an iceberg?

 

Only in the Mediterannean. LOL.

[serene56]

Out of 15 cruises we sailed 9 times on the aft of ships. Royal, Princess and Carnival.

 

I agree with all the above- the bigger balcony, less crowds.

 

BUT there is no wind back there so no ocean breezes. It can get warm during the day so we gotta keep the curtains closed in the cabin. Its a long walk to the elevators. stairs.

 

Vibration.shuddering only when leaving port or docking. Have not felt motion while we are at sea.

 

Some people complain that its too loud back there--with the noise of the wake-- but i personally did not hear the differnce between there and the side.

 

We can no long afford the aft cabins- drat. Our next cruise they are over 400. to book and I can think of a lot of things to do with 400.00

[momneedsrest]

I just booked two cabins on the Freedom for next summer! Whew. The RCL operator was quite polite and easy to work with and assigned us to deck 8 (he says it is a good location) in inside cabins 8403 and 8407. After completing the booking, I looked at a deck map and saw we are so far aft that if we were any farther we'd be water skiing! I am a bit concerned. Any thoughts/experiences/comments about these cabins?

[lady_cruiser]

.......... Folks who like the big aft balconies either do so because they have a large party, or simply want a bigger balcony than anyone else!

We will have our first AFT cabin this coming February and I can tell you why we decided to try an AFT cabin. First it is not because we like to party. In fact we are just the opposite. We like the qiet and go on a cruise to relax. Second, the further away we are from everything the further we have to walk to get there which suits us just fine. We love walking and this way we'll get our exercise without having to go to the gym every day.

 

As for the size of the balcony on AFT cabins, the only AFT cabins that have the larger balconies are the corner ones. We have a center balcony which means the size of our balcony will be the same size as it would be if we had chosen a cabin that was more centralized.

 

As for the virabrations, the jury is still out on this one. If I remember I'll come back and let you know how we felt about this one.

[PantherFan]

Ladycruiser,

 

Your center aft balcony on the Voyager will be deeper than the ones on the side by a larger amount. You have lounge chairs facing the railing on the aft whereas just a chair on the side balconies.

[Kaibocan]

Also, have you ever heard of a ship backing into an iceberg?

 

 

When we did an Alaskan cruise on RCCL the captain turned the boat around so the aft was closest to glaciers and swung it from side to side. It was amazing.

DOn't know if they always do this. I'll be in an aft on the Star in OCtober and can't wait!!

[lady_cruiser]

Ladycruiser,

 

Your center aft balcony on the Voyager will be deeper than the ones on the side by a larger amount. You have lounge chairs facing the railing on the aft whereas just a chair on the side balconies.

 

WOW! Thanks!

[Hflors]

Look at this attached picture. This is why we love aft cabins. The balcony not only had the three loungers in the picture, but one more and a table with 4 chairs. It was wonderful

[Kaibocan]

Look at this attached picture. This is why we love aft cabins. The balcony not only had the three loungers in the picture, but one more and a table with 4 chairs. It was wonderful

 

What ship & cabin was that picture taken in? Looks awesome

[PantherFan]

If you want to see cabin pictures check this site out and add to it for everyone else.

 

I ran across this site a couple months ago, its free and very helpful

 

http://www.*****

[Hflors]

What ship & cabin was that picture taken in? Looks awesome

 

The ship is Celebrity Summit cabin is 8166 corner aft family balcony. Believe me it was as awsome as it looks.

[CupKayke]

Can anyone tell me more info about room 6424 on the Carnival Triumph? The website lists it as "Deck 6 Forward & Aft" and the diagram shows it with a Queen bed, on the side of the ship (not back), and with an odd configuration. Husband and I like to sit on the balcony (lots) BUT I've got to have an ocean breeze. We last had a midship balcony on Royal Caribbean and loved it but I saw this room available and liked the location and thought a bigger balcony would be fabulous. This room is listed as the same price as any other balcony on Carnival's website. Any comments or suggestions??

[Saligo]

I am quite sensitive to noise and vibration, so I have generally avoided aft cabins. However, when we sailed to the Baltic on Jewel of the Seas a couple of years ago, there weren't many cabins to choose from but there was an interesting-looking cabin (9256) available on one of the aft corners for a very reasonable price. I looked carefully at exterior pictures of the ship, and it appeared that the balcony wrapped round from the back to the side, which meant much better views than from most balconies. So I booked, and that's just the way it was!

You couldn't actually walk right round to the side because of the way the balcony tapered, but you could look out that way. And there was virtually no noise, vibration or that side-to-side jiggling motion you get on some ships. This is because Jewel and the other RCCL Radiance Class ships have gas turbine engines (much smoother than diesels) and are pod-driven rather than the old shafts-and-propellors system. Even on the old-style ships there are variations. For instance, two of the older P&O ships, Aurora and Artemis, are both screw-driven, but the engines on Aurora have flexible mountings whereas those on Artemis are rigidly fitted. So Artemis vibrates much more than Aurora. Even so, Aurora still jiggles a bit at the stern, whereas Jewel of the Seas doesn't. So, as I said in the title, if you're sensitive to noise, vibration or jiggling, choose your ship carefully before going for an aft cabin. But if you get a good one it's great and you feel sort of privileged throughout the cruise.

[Steelers36]

I just booked two cabins on the Freedom for next summer! Whew. The RCL operator was quite polite and easy to work with and assigned us to deck 8 (he says it is a good location) in inside cabins 8403 and 8407. After completing the booking, I looked at a deck map and saw we are so far aft that if we were any farther we'd be water skiing! I am a bit concerned. Any thoughts/experiences/comments about these cabins?

 

Why didn't you have the deck plans at hand when making the booking in the first place?

[grayguru]

Facing aft, you can use your balcony all the time. You are protected from the wind, because you are sailing *away* from the wind.

 

We once had a balcony faciing forward. Great view, but so windy that we could not go outside.

[Westsail374]

As real estate people say, it's location, location, location.

 

The lower you are in the aft end of the ship, the nearer you are to the engines.

 

As one observer noted, the older pre-azipod ships have much more noise. We were in an ocean view cabin about 8 from the rear on the bottom deck on a HAL ship (I think the Zaandam??) a few years ago, and the vibrations and engine noise were unceasing throughout the cruise. We were also just above the crew entertainment room, and they partied hearty - and VERY noisily - nonstop....

 

The hotel staff said the ship was full, and no other cabin was available. Our worst cruise experience, cabin-wise.

[enymarsh]

Like others have said.. having space to stretch out on a lounge is important for us... on some ships (Princess) the aft balconies are completely covered so no one looking down - but all ships are different - we will be on Carnival next and although this will be my first aft balcony on a Carnival ship, I think they are tiered (?) this may mean that we are further from the wake than we like and not so private... but our favorite part of the aft location is the wake - the sound as well as the view - and on some ships the wrap-around shape of the corner ones gives you extra viewing range...

 

we find that there is nothing that quite matches having this spot on the ship for some quiet moments all to ourselves...

[RJG1011]

We sailed on the RCCL Explorer last January in an aft cabin on deck 6 which we got by accident after booking a guarantee. We had total privacy from the cabins above us and the balcony was huge! There were two chaise lounges and a table and several chairs as well as a small side table. There was little wind even when sailing in rough seas down the Atlantic to the Caribbean. However, there was quite a bit of vibration when the ship was moving. We met people in an aft cabin on deck 9. Their deck was not quite as large as ours although much larger than a regular balcony cabin. They did not feel the vibration at all, but they did not have the privacy that we did because their deck was open to the balconies on deck 10. It is a trade-off between privacy and vibrations which often disturbed my sleep.

[love to read]

I don't understand the big fuss about the aft cabins. My wife and I had one on the Liberty of the Seas and decided that we would never do that again. We have heard everything from the size of the ship to newer ships to higher or lower decks. It took us several days before we could sleep. The view and the size of the balcony was great, but it did not ofset the vibrations and the noise, and it only got worse when docking and leaving ports.

[pom]

The ship is Celebrity Summit cabin is 8166 corner aft family balcony. Believe me it was as awsome as it looks.

 

Yes I did the 14 night classical med cruise in Oct 31/09 and you are so right about the Summit. Older ship but nice not so crowded, and Europe was great to see with a large balcony!!!

[UberCruiseQueen]

I just booked two cabins on the Freedom for next summer! Whew. The RCL operator was quite polite and easy to work with and assigned us to deck 8 (he says it is a good location) in inside cabins 8403 and 8407. After completing the booking, I looked at a deck map and saw we are so far aft that if we were any farther we'd be water skiing! I am a bit concerned. Any thoughts/experiences/comments about these cabins?

 

You may opt for an inside that is closer to stairs or elevator. Although may find other inside staterooms are at a higher rate than the category you selected. Either way the view is the same. Your current stateroom has some benefits: you are not located next to any cabin steward prep areas and you should have less noise due to very little foot traffic in that area of the hall. As for water skiing...there is no additional shore excursion fee, hang on tight to the rope because the wake of a ship will provide you with a water skiing adventure of a lifetime ;) I prefer to see outside, but if price is an issue I would be willing to sleep on a deck chair!

[UberCruiseQueen]

We will have our first AFT cabin this coming February and I can tell you why we decided to try an AFT cabin. First it is not because we like to party. In fact we are just the opposite. We like the qiet and go on a cruise to relax. Second, the further away we are from everything the further we have to walk to get there which suits us just fine. We love walking and this way we'll get our exercise without having to go to the gym every day.

 

As for the size of the balcony on AFT cabins, the only AFT cabins that have the larger balconies are the corner ones. We have a center balcony which means the size of our balcony will be the same size as it would be if we had chosen a cabin that was more centralized.

 

As for the virabrations, the jury is still out on this one. If I remember I'll come back and let you know how we felt about this one.

 

FYI...I am an aft girl, I will book a cruise based on aft availability alone. I love the larger balcony, view, aft wake and the colors in the water. With that said and many cruises in aft staterooms I was surprised and disappointed when I entered my aft stateroom on the Voyger of the Seas. This is hard to admit because I am very loyal to RCI.

 

I was in the aft, center of the ship, several years and cruises ago so I don't recall the exact stateroom. There is a vary large span of battleship gray deck between your balcony rail and where the battleship gray ends there is another rail at the aft of the ship. The "gray deck" we will call it is very reflective and we were looking through two sets of deck railing to see the water. Other passengers were so upset to see the lay out of the aft cabins that they climbed over their rail to get to the rail at the back of the ship to enjoy the aft view they thought they were going to have. FYI...THIS GOES AGAINST RCI SAFTEY POLICY!!! The water view felt like it was off in the distance. Other family members that had balconies mid ship on the same deck had been upset when they booked that there were NO aft balcony staterooms available. They booked midship, same deck and were thrilled they had a midship balcony instead of our view. I must admit I offered to change rooms after I saw my view (afterall they wanted an aft when they originally booked)and not one of my family members was will to take the aft.

Remember we all have opinions and my opinion had always been, "The aft is the BEST!", now my opinion is "Not all aft cabins are created equal". Ship design can make a big difference in the view you will enjoy.