For those of you that have sailed in both forward and aft penthouse suites...

[ghayes]

My DH and I are currently booked in PH suite 9000 (forward) on the Gem out of NY next spring for a 9 day cruise to the Caribbean...

This will be our second cruise with Norwegian! We just came back from a week on the Jewel to the Bahamas and we LOVED it. We have always wanted to try Norwegian so when we saw a balcony room for a VERY low price we seized the opportunity to try it. Past cruises include RCCL (balcony) and CCL ( balcony and suites)

I am trying to decide if I should change the suite we are in. I booked it because I had a chance to see it on my last cruise and the balcony was gigantic. I should have done some research first because now that I have had the chance to really look at the options I am torn... I would love it if I could get some feedback including preference from anyone that has sailed in both forward and aft PH suites! These are the suites I am agonizing over and have some questions about.

 

9000 Bow cabin 294 SQ FT balcony 284 SQ FT

Pro

Gigantic balcony

 

Con

Lights out at night

Bulkhead door

Possible constraints due to bad weather

A little dark

 

Is the door so heavy that I would have difficulty opening it? I would not like it if I had to always ask my husband to open it...

 

10000 Bow cabin 357 SQ FT balcony 144 SQ FT (bump out)

Pro

Bigger room

Large windows (brighter)

 

Con

Same as above

Smaller balcony

 

Does this balcony get much sun? We are balcony people and we love to get some sun on our balcony.

 

10666 Stern cabin 287 SQ FT 88 SQ FT

Pro

Sliding door

No balcony restrictions

 

Con

Smaller room

Much smaller balcony

Possible soot

Possible French fry, lemon wedge, cigarette butt etc... Landing on the balcony.

 

I know there are more pro and con points but these are the ones I am agonizing over. I consider both to have fantastic views so I am not worried about that!

So... Thanks for reading and thanks in advance for any replies!

[david_sobe]

Dont beat yourself up over the decision. There is no right or wrong answer. Everyone likes different things. I have sailed in an aft Sky penthouse and forward Epic penthouse. The Epic penthouse had a solarium so weather was never an issue. I like both the front and back of the ship equally.

Looking at the wake is very nice. But being forward is like being on your own private yacht. The water is coming directly at you which is very nice. Those forward hull balconies are quiet large and could really be nice.

Each is a great view. Impossible to pick one. I would go with the larger room and balcony. That is what would sway my decision. Being dark at night would be nice to me because it would allow you to see more stars. I actually would prefer a dark balcony at night.

[perkydebrajean]

We are booked in 10000 on the Gem for this June. My first cruise! I chose 10000 over 9000 because I figured I would enjoy the bigger room more than the bigger balcony. And in 10000 it looks like there is a huge window that would give lots of light during the day. Another reason I chose 10000 is that I figured it would be quiet unless the captain and officers decide to get rowdy!

 

Keeping it dark at night wouldn't bother me. I don't mind sitting on my balcony watching the stars in the dark.

 

I am hoping that since it's directly under the bridge that at least part of it might be shaded. I'm not that much of a sun worshipper!

[Smellytoes]

I've done both. I prefer a forward balcony in the summer and an aft balcony in the spring and fall. You get more use out of an aft balcony during those seasons because the wind on the forward balcony can cause it to be chilly.

[suometar]

We love aft cabins! The wake is so mesmerizing, and there is no wind. We have been both in the aft penthouse on deck 10 on the Pearl, and the deck 10 aft balcony on the Jewel. Yes, we did experience some soot, but it wasn't really a dealbreaker. And occasionally a paper napkin from the Great Outdoors will waft down, but as far as foodstuff being thrown--never had that happen.

[perkydebrajean]

I've done both. I prefer a forward balcony in the summer and an aft balcony in the spring and fall. You get more use out of an aft balcony during those seasons because the wind on the forward balcony can cause it to be chilly.

 

Another reason I booked a forward room. It will be June and I love a good breeze!

[ghayes]

Thanks ... I changed our room to 10500! I think we will be happy here for 9 days...

Deciding factors were bigger room,large windows and we still had a very big balcony!! It is going to be a very long 10 months!

[RareBird]

Good choice! We have Deck 10 larger front penthouse booked on star in less than one month. Can't wait.

 

Edit. We have sailed aft balcony cabins before, they are fantastic. This time we really wanted to experience the bow.

[ghayes]

We will definitely try the Aft one day! So many people love them.... For this trip (9 days) we really wanted lots of room in and out. Have a great trip!

[MafG]

You will love this room! We were in 10000 on the Gem this past march and we are booked again in the same room for next year. We loved the space inside and out. Lots of sun on the balcony if you want it but still some shade if that's what you prefer. The big window is nice and does make the room much britter during the day. The door is not that heavy... Was able to open and close it without my husband's help. It's a great location on the ship. Loved it!!!

[VideoTech]

Con

Lights out at night

Bulkhead door

Possible constraints due to bad weather

A little dark

 

Is the door so heavy that I would have difficulty opening it? I would not like it if I had to always ask my husband to open it...

 

As someone who loves the forward penthouse suites, and always books them, let me address your "con" concerns:

 

Lights in the cabin do NOT have to be out at night, unless for some reason you want to leave your inner balcony door and window curtains open all the time. If you keep the window curtains closed, you can easily slip out of the cabin onto the balcony, closing the door behind you, without bothering the officer's vision on the bridge above.

 

The outer bulkhead door is not that heavy, but you do need to be careful when opening and closing it in the wind...it can slip out of your hands and it is a large metal door. But you really never need to close the outer bulkhead door for any reason. If the weather is bad enough to require closing it, the ship's crew will do that for you, and at that point you won't want to be out on the balcony (or even be allowed on the balcony) anyway.

 

The weather constraints are the same as anywhere else on the ship. If the weather is bad enough to make the balcony unusable, you'll be advised of that by the crew, and as I said, you won't want to be out there anyway. The motion of the ship is somewhat more pronounced at the bow, and you should consider that if you are prone to sea sickness.

 

We have never found the forward Penthouses to be any darker than the other cabins we've seen on the ship.

 

We love the forward Penthouses, with the huge balcony, great views, and sea breezes. They can be a little windy at times, but you can always find some shelter from the wind by stepping back a bit.

 

Hope that helps!

[IluvZ]

I had an aft balcony on my only RCL cruise and it was terrible. Light was on all night and the cabin had horrible vibration in moderate swells. We have avoided aft for that reason in all our NCL cruises, but I wonder if that might have been a ship specific issues. Any one else had these issues in the aft?

[bonvoyagie]

I was in an aft penthouse on the Sky 10 years ago and the only time we had vibrations was when traveling at top speed or when the side thrusters were used to push away from a dock. The following year we went back on the Sky in a more mid ship balcony cabin - fewer vibrations but they were still there. When I cruised on the POA in 06 (midship balcony)there were no vibrations.

 

The main differences in these two ships is the drive - the Sky has older shaft drive out the stern of the ship - the POA has the Azipod system that was much smoother and there were no aft side thrusters. I will find out if the aft penthouse in the Pearl (Azipod drive) has any vibration problems.

[McDebbie]

Does the forward cabin have the full metal balcony railing? On the Sky that was a big problem for me because when I was sitting down I could not see the water. Not fun to have to stand all the time. We love the wake on the aft cabins and since the balcony railing is plexiglass I can always see when sitting down. DH and I both love to look at the water so aft is best for us. Another reason why we have not moved up to the Haven is because of the lack of water view.

[ghayes]

Does the forward cabin have the full metal balcony railing? On the Sky that was a big problem for me because when I was sitting down I could not see the water. Not fun to have to stand all the time. We love the wake on the aft cabins and since the balcony railing is plexiglass I can always see when sitting down. DH and I both love to look at the water so aft is best for us. Another reason why we have not moved up to the Haven is because of the lack of water view.

 

Wow... Now I have to go back and look at the very few pictures I was able to find! I kind of remember seeing metal and then maybe two rails above it... We love to look at the water too.

[sstrong]

I had an aft balcony on my only RCL cruise and it was terrible. Light was on all night and the cabin had horrible vibration in moderate swells. We have avoided aft for that reason in all our NCL cruises, but I wonder if that might have been a ship specific issues. Any one else had these issues in the aft?

 

Our only previous cruise was in an aft balcony on CCL because everyone on CC raved about them. We loved it. We didn't notice any of the problems you experienced. People consistently seem to rave about the aft balconies on every cruise line. I'm not sure what happened in your case. I say give it another shot.