Epic - Large B6 Balcony or Aft Balcony??

[BlueJai]

Which would you pick?? We have booked a Large Balcony for our first upcoming Epic cruise. We are hoping that we might be able to 'tip' our steward and have loungers on it. For our cruise, there are still a number of Aft cabins and the price difference is like 20.00 pp.

 

We normally do regular balconies but did an Aft on the Sky. I loved it, DH liked it specifically because of the loungers, but he likes to see where we are going - not where we have been.

 

So my question, what would you do? Do the Epic Aft balconies have loungers or just chairs. On the 7 day, it looks like she backs into Nassau and St. Maarten (I think) which would give a great view while lounging.

 

Thanks for any insight!

Jai

[ERLEC]

I changed my B6 balcony for an AFT balcony on my November Epic cruise and I loved it. Take a cabin on the corner, you'll end up having a larger balcony. I had cabin 10318 and loved the balcony size.

 

We gave a 10$ tip to the room steward to get 2 lounges chairs on the balcony.

[jdvmd]

Seems like a good price to upgrade. That said, I am not a fan of the Epic aft balconies because of the vibration issue. Some people love them, however.

[kjquilts]

Our first Epic cruise we had stern balcony 10318 - corner stateroom with bed by balcony . Balcony is large enough to hold two loungers, two chairs and the tiny table. We just requested one lounger from our steward and he got it immediately. $20 tip was not required but it didn't hurt us and he appreciated it. We did help him carry lounger through the stateroom - loungers are heavy and there isn't a lot of maneuvering room.

 

For our upcoming cruise we're booked in one of the largest B6 balconies with bed by the balcony. Got a really great deal a long time ago and am happy with the stateroom. If loungers aren't already there we'll be requesting them. Will miss the aft view but wanted to try something different this time.

[BlueJai]

I changed my B6 balcony for an AFT balcony on my November Epic cruise and I loved it. Take a cabin on the corner, you'll end up having a larger balcony. I had cabin 10318 and loved the balcony size.

 

We gave a 10$ tip to the room steward to get 2 lounges chairs on the balcony.

 

Thank you for the information. Do you know if the aft was larger or smaller than the B6 balcony. In talking to NCL, the sizing they gave me made no sense:(

 

I am happy where we have booked the B6, but also know the aft is awesome too!

[BlueJai]

Seems like a good price to upgrade. That said, I am not a fan of the Epic aft balconies because of the vibration issue. Some people love them, however.

 

Thanks jdvmd! That is good information to know. Now that you have mentioned it, I do recall reading about vibration in the aft.

 

Thanks!

[BlueJai]

Our first Epic cruise we had stern balcony 10318 - corner stateroom with bed by balcony . Balcony is large enough to hold two loungers, two chairs and the tiny table. We just requested one lounger from our steward and he got it immediately. $20 tip was not required but it didn't hurt us and he appreciated it. We did help him carry lounger through the stateroom - loungers are heavy and there isn't a lot of maneuvering room.

 

For our upcoming cruise we're booked in one of the largest B6 balconies with bed by the balcony. Got a really great deal a long time ago and am happy with the stateroom. If loungers aren't already there we'll be requesting them. Will miss the aft view but wanted to try something different this time.

 

Just curious, why did you change from the Aft to a Large Balcony? Thanks for helping in the decision making!

[kaiemiascott2]

I will be sailing on the Epic in February and just changed my stateroom to an Aft Balcony, the corner stateroom on the port side located on Deck 11. I have read where you will hear the music from SpiceH2O. Has anyone had a problem with this in the past. We love the Aft Balconies and just want to make sure we are not making a mistake. Could anyone tell me more about the vibration in the aft.

 

Sandy

[jetoem]

We booked large balcony as well , time of booking it was quite a bit more than aft....and balcony size was a little larger...ncl agents can give you room specs based on room number...

[wheatengirl]

We had 11096 b6 balcony recently. 2 chairs and 2 loungers with small table. We loved it. It was close to elevators and easy to go to garden buffet for breakfast. Also, the bed was by balcony....PERFECT!

[kjquilts]

Just curious, why did you change from the Aft to a Large Balcony? Thanks for helping in the decision making!

 

We had the aft/stern balcony in our August 2010 cruise on the Epic. Originally when we booked the Jan 2014 8 day Epic cruise we booked Spa Mini Suite 14118 with HUGE balcony. Decided it was too much $$ and when we saw a special for B6 balcony for price of lesser balcony we made the switch. Our large B6 on 12 was half the original price on the Spa mini suite. My heart still lusts for the 14118 balcony but I know it was the right decision for us. You can see photos of both in attached thread

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1757815

 

If 10318 or it's sister on the other end of the stern was available for reasonable price I would have considered switching. I liked the fact that balcony is wider than normal and love the stern view ..... nothing but scenery and sky to view. When we were on the Epic I always felt some (not a lot) of vibration in 10318. A couple times when coming into port (especially Miami!) it was loud and had enough movement to blast me out of bed. Larry slept through it, I made coffee and enjoyed watching the sun come up. We heard no noise from above (or below or next door) in 10318.

My concern with our B6 balcony is the number of other balconies within view and the shape of the balcony (deeper than wide). However, bed is by the balcony, price was great and there is enough room for seating for us and our friends who are booked in an inside one deck under us.

 

Don't know if you've seen this thread where I posted photos of 10318 stern balcony as well as the "secret stairs" area next door.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1923519&highlight=epic+10318+photos

 

 

 

 

[BlueJai]

Thank you Karen, That is really good information and the other link was great. I think I have a similar thought to the Large Balconies - that they are more deep than wide.

 

Thanks again for your time in helping me! :)

[BabsinTX]

I will be sailing on the Epic in February and just changed my stateroom to an Aft Balcony, the corner stateroom on the port side located on Deck 11. I have read where you will hear the music from SpiceH2O. Has anyone had a problem with this in the past. We love the Aft Balconies and just want to make sure we are not making a mistake. Could anyone tell me more about the vibration in the aft.

 

Sandy

 

We were in aft corner balcony 12310 this month, and only heard some bass from Spice H2O during the White Hot Party. It didn't bother me, and I'm VERY sensitive to noise. As for vibration, we didn't notice much until we were backing into Miami on our return, and that's only because one of the closet doors wasn't fully closed. Congrats on the corner balcony; your balcony will be a couple of feet wider than the others. If you don't have a lounger already, ask your steward for one or two.

[cruizecrazygramma]

Which would you pick?? We have booked a Large Balcony for our first upcoming Epic cruise. We are hoping that we might be able to 'tip' our steward and have loungers on it. For our cruise, there are still a number of Aft cabins and the price difference is like 20.00 pp.

 

We normally do regular balconies but did an Aft on the Sky. I loved it, DH liked it specifically because of the loungers, but he likes to see where we are going - not where we have been.

 

So my question, what would you do? Do the Epic Aft balconies have loungers or just chairs. On the 7 day, it looks like she backs into Nassau and St. Maarten (I think) which would give a great view while lounging.

 

Thanks for any insight!

Jai

 

Had a B6 on our first Epic and it had a lounger on it.

[punkincc]

I will be sailing on the Epic in February and just changed my stateroom to an Aft Balcony, the corner stateroom on the port side located on Deck 11. I have read where you will hear the music from SpiceH2O. Has anyone had a problem with this in the past. We love the Aft Balconies and just want to make sure we are not making a mistake. Could anyone tell me more about the vibration in the aft.

 

Sandy

 

Recently on the Epic in an aft facing on 11, but we were the opposite corner aft, 11313 on the starboard side. We heard nothing but the sound of the wake which is quite loud. We had one lounger and two chairs with a couple small end tables. There is a very large stairwell located on each end of the hall, right next to the corner cabins ( the secret stairs ). Very handy if you want to see something off the side that you can't see from your balcony.

 

We felt more vibration in our aft on the Epic than we did on the Sun ( inside passage ), but I'm sure sea conditions had something to do with it. It was very windy and very large swells. Most of the time it was mild and not unpleasant. The worst was coming in to Miami where it seemed to go on forever, but I'd still book an aft in a heartbeat.