Regular balcony...cove balcony...aft wrap?

[Alybaby77]

I just took my boyfriend on his first cruise. We shared a 1A cabin (4 people) on a 2 day cruise. He enjoyed it enough to want to book a longer cruise, where we have more privacy and don't have to sleep in bunk beds. I am going to pick a 4-7 day cruise where it will just be the two of us in a cabin. I am trying to decide between a regular balcony, cove balcony or an aft wrap. I have had a regular balcony cabin but not a cove or any aft cabin. I have not yet chosen a ship or itinerary

 

What are the pros and cons of each type of the above mentioned cabins?

[jsfromsc]

I'd love to try a cove balcony, but I vote for the aft wrap. You'll have lots of room on your own balcony. Watching the ship's wake is lovely, especially in the moonlight. And for some privacy you can use the side portion of the balcony. The worst part of the aft is that people on the decks above you can look down onto your balcony, but with the wrap, you can have some privacy on the side portion, especially at night. ;)

I've had cabin 7425 on the Triumph twice and I loved the spaciousness of the balcony and the cabin. You have windows both on the side and aft as well.

[panoramaofthepast]

I just took my boyfriend on his first cruise. We shared a 1A cabin (4 people) on a 2 day cruise. He enjoyed it enough to want to book a longer cruise, where we have more privacy and don't have to sleep in bunk beds. I am going to pick a 4-7 day cruise where it will just be the two of us in a cabin. I am trying to decide between a regular balcony, cove balcony or an aft wrap. I have had a regular balcony cabin but not a cove or any aft cabin. I have not yet chosen a ship or itinerary

 

What are the pros and cons of each type of the above mentioned cabins?

I guess any answer to this question will be totally biased, but I will try!!IMHO . . . .

• Some people swear by cove balconies. For me, being prone to seasickness, being that close to the water is not a good idea.
  
• Aft balconies are bigger; aft wraps are the biggest available, but you will pay for the space - significantly! I like being able to look out at the wake, but have decided that using the money for other things [like the spa!!!] is a better investment for me.
  
• Have you considered a spa balcony? Since I love the spa area, having a spa balcony is worth the money. We love the thassotherapy [sp!] pool in the evening and the heated recliners.
  

Have fun!!

SueB

[SIENA6334]

I have had an aft-wrap and just an aft balcony. If there is just the two of you I would go for an aft balcony and try to get one that is right next to one of the wraps. These two particular balconies are 1/3 larger than the middle afts. You will find it very quiet in the back and your balcony will hold 2 reg chairs and 2 lounge chairs. It is quite a view from back there. The aft wraps are quite expensive and honestly you won't even use the entire thing since it is only the two if you. Good luck!!!;)

[mikel24m]

I just took my boyfriend on his first cruise. We shared a 1A cabin (4 people) on a 2 day cruise. He enjoyed it enough to want to book a longer cruise, where we have more privacy and don't have to sleep in bunk beds. I am going to pick a 4-7 day cruise where it will just be the two of us in a cabin. I am trying to decide between a regular balcony, cove balcony or an aft wrap. I have had a regular balcony cabin but not a cove or any aft cabin. I have not yet chosen a ship or itinerary

 

What are the pros and cons of each type of the above mentioned cabins?

 

It depends on what you like

 

For us a regular lido balcony right by all the action we love.

 

We cruise mostly Conquest class ships and its really nice to be about 30 feet from the pool ,bars ,food ,morning coffee

[Alybaby77]

Thanks for the replies so far :)

 

I do get sea sick very easily (which is one of the reasons my friends and family think I am crazy for cruising as much as I do), so that is a concern as well. The last few trips I have been on, have been interior rooms. The ones at the back of the ship affected my motion sickness the most. I am hoping that having easily accessible fresh air will help with that.

 

I read on here somewhere that someone had an issue with soot on the aft balconies. Anyone had any issues with that?

[wmowan8485]

I had my first aft in Dec. on the miracle (spirit class) the posts here on CC had me panicked that I would find soot all over the balcony as well as peeping toms from above.

 

I can report there was absolutely no soot to report. I did not have chain smoking neighbors blowing smoke in my face. It was beautiful, I rather enjoyed being towards the back of the ship as there was not a lot of foot traffic back there.

 

We were also on Deck 4 on the miracle and I've since learned that this deck offers the most privacy in terms of no one can see you from above.

 

Hope this helps!! You are going to have a great time regardless of which balcony you reserve. :)

[gailjen]

Cove balconies are slightly more private, we got some sun morning or evening but if your looking for more i reckon a regular/aft would be better. If you like the thought of being very close to the sea go for a cove, you can sit of hours watching the waves :)

 

If you want I have some footage of my cabin 2322 on The Breeze

 

YouTube Gailjen1

 

[LaShea]

I have never had a cove so I can not report on those at all. I have had regular balconies and aft balconies. If it is just me and hubby then it will be an aft balcony every single time...hands down! We have always gotten the aft ext balconies (agree with the above poster on getting the one next to a wrap. They are bigger than the other aft ext balconies.) We have our first wrap on the Triumph in Sept as it was only $60.00 more then the aft ext and I couldn't pass that up!!:p:D The view from the back of the ship is simply amazing!! I have never had issues with soot on any of my aft balconies and they have been on three different ships.

[vigurl]

As someone who was dead set against cove balcony (too close to the water, too low on the ship, under the life boats) after visiting a CC members room on the Breeze I have changed my mind.

 

I will take Cove over regular Balcony cabin any day. I think for the price point it is worth it. I would prob still do reg balcony if they were the same price.

 

Just be clear you cant tan on a cove balcony as it never gets enough sun to do that.

[disneylover89]

The worst part of the aft is that people on the decks above you can look down onto your balcony, but with the wrap, you can have some privacy on the side portion, especially at night. ;)

 

Is this the same with extended balconies, mid ship? Are the people above able to see down at you?

[beachbum53]

Keep in mind that currently only three ships have cove balconies. The Breeze (out of Miami), the Dream (out of Port Canaveral) and the Magic (out of Galveston). Along with considering what type of cabin and balcony you want, you'll need to consider which ship, which itinerary, and, if it's important, which port you'll be sailing out of. Also, when choosing your cabin, take a look at the ship's deck plans so you'll know what's above you, what's below you, and what's across the hall from you. If you're near a housekeeping storage room, or elevators and stairways, they could be potential sources of noise, just as a lounge or public gathering place could be (if one is above or below your cabin). Having a balcony is great, but having a cabin that's subject to a lot of noise, especially late in the evening or early in the morning when you're trying to sleep, is not so great.

[dolphin2012]

we had a cove balcony on the magic and we just loved loved it!! it does not get alot of sun but the privacy was super nice.. the lifeboats are above you but they did not block the view.. go on youtube and there are tons of vidoes out there of them... most of all i liked how close you were to the water. it was the first time to see flying fish !! there were flying fish and dolphins out there all the time.. so relaxing and you could hear the water splashing.. they do say that during a big storm they close the door to the balcony but yu still have a big window in the room .....i would book it again in a second... our favorite room....

[Alybaby77]

Thanks to everyone for their input!

[pungo3]

I had an Aft Wrap on the Dream's 16 day transatlantic cruise. It was wonderful. The quiet is worth every penny, imho. :D

[Rena921]

My vote is for an aft wrap every time. More space, peaceful, and the views are awesome. You get the best of both worlds...you can see what's going on out the side and back. Beautiful skies at sunrise and sunset.

[shawne71]

We just booked Stateroom 9472 on the Carnival Dream. It's an aft-wrap balcony but the same price as a regular balcony on Deck 9 (Category 8D). It has an overhang so nobody can look down on you like on other aft balconies. It's a smaller room but the balcony makes up for it! :D

[Can'tWait2SetSail]

I guess any answer to this question will be totally biased, but I will try!!IMHO . . . .

• Some people swear by cove balconies. For me, being prone to seasickness, being that close to the water is not a good idea.
  
• Aft balconies are bigger; aft wraps are the biggest available, but you will pay for the space - significantly! I like being able to look out at the wake, but have decided that using the money for other things [like the spa!!!] is a better investment for me.
  
• Have you considered a spa balcony? Since I love the spa area, having a spa balcony is worth the money. We love the thassotherapy [sp!] pool in the evening and the heated recliners.
  

Have fun!!

SueB

 

From my research, I had read that the reverse is true. I read that the cove is better for seasickness because being low there is less motion, while the aft is bad for seasickness. If anyone suffers from seasickness can they confirm? I would love to try an aft wrap, but I do suffer seasickness so I am scared to try this.

[LSGDRG]

I prefer an aft wrap. I like seeing the view from the back & the side of the ship.

[Cyber Kat]

I absolutely LOVED our aft wrap on the Splendor - 6485! I would book that cabin for every cruise if I could get it. It wasn't that much more than a regular balcony - and it was worth every penny!

 

We had 2 lounge chairs, 2 chairs with reclining backs, one regular chair, 2 tables and room for a pony (okay - who gets that reference :D )

 

We had soot one day when they were testing something that involved blowing the ship's horn a lot at Grand Turk. We looked down from the Lido deck and could only see the railing so there are no privacy issues - unless your neighbor on the aft balcony next to you is nosy and looks around the divider.

 

The room is sort of square instead of long like most side balcony rooms, so it felt bigger and it had 2 windows plus the door.

 

Here are some photos ...

 

 

 

[PSkinner]

We had aft wrap for our anniversary and loved it. A great place to spend alone time.

[Cruzin in 09]

80008

 

 

Life is better aboard a ship.

[scm1063]

Once you do the aft wrap you won't do anything else. You have been warned!

[GeoHack]

From my research' date=' I had read that the reverse is true. I read that the cove is better for seasickness because being low there is less motion, while the aft is bad for seasickness. If anyone suffers from seasickness can they confirm? I would love to try an aft wrap, but I do suffer seasickness so I am scared to try this.[/quote']

 

I'll be able to confirm this December. My first cruise I did the aft wrap and realized I am prone to sea sickness. The rest the family was fine. It is wonderful as others have stated. The next time I cruised I did a mid ship balcony but still got sea sick however we were literally traveling behind the hurricane that took out Progresso the day before we were supposed to port several years back and the waters were rough. I didn't get as nauseous as the aft though. Both those trips were on smaller ships (Rhapsody/Ecstasy). Sailed the Navigator on a balcony front ship and still a little nauseous but livable. Rest of the family doesn't get sea sick, but in my later years I have been prone to vertigo/motion sickness. That being said I still love to cruise even with the sickness, and the family really loves it. I have a mid ship cove booked this winter and hope it will help with the sea sickness but will let you know. In my opinion answering the original OP question and the fact she is prone to sea sickness, I would say go with the cove or regular balcony mid-ship just to be safe. If you got sea sick on a 4 day, than a 7 day would be worst. It literally takes me a month to quit feeling the motion when I get back. I'll be walking down a hall way at work holding onto the wall for a period of time. I'm sure I'm the minority as most that keep cruising aren't prone to sea sickness. Just giving my opinion as someone who gets sea sick as you stated you do.

[Rosesgt]

We will be doing our 3rd cruise with an aft balcony this Dec. We have had side balconies which are also good. We have not tried the cove balcony but have read good reviews about them. My only problem with them is they are so far from the food and fun. I try not to use the elevators when on board and it's easy to walk up a couple of levels to get the morning coffee or the occasional adult beverage (OK maybe more than occasional:p) from one of the upper decks then it would be from the main deck. I guess it would definitely help keep a few more ounces off my waistline.:rolleyes:

IMHO, the aft balconies are the way to go and worth the extra money, we have not tried the aft wrap mostly because they're a little more than we want to spend.

One think is for certain, once you have a balcony, you'll never want to cruise any other way.