What's up with the Epic aft baloncies?

[towel-animal]

I was playing around on the NCL booking site, and I noticed that for most of the Epic sailings in March, pretty much all the balcony categories are sold out except for AFT. I was surprised, because I thought AFT balconies were regarded as one of the most desirable cabins....would have thought they'd be the first ones to sell out, especially as there aren't nearly as many of them. Are these cabins not as great as I thought?

Edited March 3, 2014 by towel-animal

[KeithJenner]

Lots of people like aft balconies, and I'm trying one myself on the Jade later this year.

 

However, there is an issue with the aft balconies on the Epic, Breakaway and Getaway compared to the other ships. They are directly below Spice H2O and there is the risk on noise from those venues at night. For that reason, I wouldn't consider an aft on those ships.

 

That isn't necessarily an issue for everyone, and lots of people like them on those ships, but it is a factor to consider.

 

Whether that is the reason for what you are seeing, I don't know, but it is a big difference between the three new ships and the older ones.

[SissasMomE]

No noise from Deck 11 lower. Corner Aft-facing balconies on the Epic are double the size of the regular balcony cabins.

[skiwee]

We have been on two sailings on the epic in afts. We have never heard any noise inside or out. Very peaceful.

 

 

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[graphicguy]

I was playing around on the NCL booking site, and I noticed that for most of the Epic sailings in March, pretty much all the balcony categories are sold out except for AFT. I was surprised, because I thought AFT balconies were regarded as one of the most desirable cabins....would have thought they'd be the first ones to sell out, especially as there aren't nearly as many of them. Are these cabins not as great as I thought?

 

So, did you snap up an aft balcony before they're all gone?

[saxgirl84]

To be honest, when I booked our balcony on getaway back in Dec, the cost of the aft balcony was almost $300 more pp. There was a huge price drop last week for my sailing and the total cost for the aft ended up being $100 less than what we paid, I called and upgraded with little issue ( had to explain my request several times because of a slight language barrier) I think it might just be the price difference....

 

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[lowroller]

Same with me, never bother me and I have been on deck 12 and 13 Aft cabins on both the Breakaway and Epic.

Glenn

 

 

We have been on two sailings on the epic in afts. We have never heard any noise inside or out. Very peaceful.

 

 

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[kjquilts]

See if 10318 is available on any of the cruises. It has a wonderful balcony - we had the normal two chairs and tiny little table and a lounger. There was enough room for two loungers but we were fine with just one and it's not real easy getting them through the stateroom.

 

There are a couple photos in this thread as well as photos of the "secret stair" area.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1923519

 

 

[waterbabies7415]

We are sailing on the Epic next month in an aft balcony. I too took advantage of the price drop and upgraded from a B5 family balcony. Everything I read states H2O wasn't an issue. We are so excited to be in an aft for the first time! :)

 

______________

Kim

[TSUmom]

We loved our aft balcony on the Epic - it was very quiet back there. I imagine the price difference may be why they are still available. I think many people wait for price drops and then grab them. We book early because we usually know which cabin we want.

[KeithJenner]

It's interesting that people are saying they didn't hear anything from Spice. It does seem that it matters how high your cabin is.

 

I just checked the reviews, and these are the comments from the last two posted reviews I found in aft cabins:

 

"Spouse really hated the booming and vibrations from Spice. I had read that ear plugs might be useful and had some but we usually were woken up around 1:00 am."

 

"or when there's a party on the 15th deck ( bass pounding untill 2 am , good luck sleeping )"

 

The second one was on deck 13, the first one doesn't say.

 

I still maintain that this could be a factor in the popularity of the aft balconies on the Epic and newer ships. As I said, I wouldn't book one on those ships, as there are others (Jewel class for example) where there isn't the risk, so if I'm going to spend extra for an aft then I'll do it on one of those.

 

I'm glad to hear that it isn't as bad as I'd feared though.

[SissasMomE]

It's interesting that people are saying they didn't hear anything from Spice. It does seem that it matters how high your cabin is.

 

I just checked the reviews, and these are the comments from the last two posted reviews I found in aft cabins:

 

"Spouse really hated the booming and vibrations from Spice. I had read that ear plugs might be useful and had some but we usually were woken up around 1:00 am."

 

"or when there's a party on the 15th deck ( bass pounding untill 2 am , good luck sleeping )"

 

The second one was on deck 13, the first one doesn't say.

 

I still maintain that this could be a factor in the popularity of the aft balconies on the Epic and newer ships. As I said, I wouldn't book one on those ships, as there are others (Jewel class for example) where there isn't the risk, so if I'm going to spend extra for an aft then I'll do it on one of those.

 

I'm glad to hear that it isn't as bad as I'd feared though.

 

I definitely would not go higher than Deck 11, or it will be an issue!!

[meggie711]

We had 11313 aft-facing balcony on Epic and it was perfection! We would absolutely book an aft-facing on Epic again. The only "noise" was that gorgeous sound of the ship's wake behind us. The view was phenomenal. The halls were incredibly quiet as there was hardly any traffic back there. The balconies were very private as the back of the ship is straight up and down, so none of the balconies are exposed. I can't stress enough how wonderful these staterooms are!

[jdvmd]

I would never book one of these. We did a cabin crawl and the thrusters were being tested. The back end shook so loud that you couldn't understand what the person was saying next to you. Thought this was just a one-time occurrence but others staying there reported it anytime we entered or left a port.

[SissasMomE]

We had 11313 aft-facing balcony on Epic and it was perfection! We would absolutely book an aft-facing on Epic again. The only "noise" was that gorgeous sound of the ship's wake behind us. The view was phenomenal. The halls were incredibly quiet as there was hardly any traffic back there. The balconies were very private as the back of the ship is straight up and down, so none of the balconies are exposed. I can't stress enough how wonderful these staterooms are!

 

Yes - no foot traffic at all! One very nice perk of having these cabins!

[Kristi1357]

We stayed in Epic aft balcony 13282 last week.

 

Yes, you can hear some noise from Spice H2O at night. And yes, it is loud with lots of vibrations from the thrusters at times. If you are a very light sleeper, this is something to consider.

 

None of this bothered us much and we (and our friends in 13280) loved the aft balconies!

[SliceOfLife]

I had a corner aft, room 12310 and you could hear the bass thumping at night from Spice.

 

I was not a fan of the room because of the movement and the vibrations. Someone reviewed an Epic aft cabin after I did and mentioned it was like being in a vibrating pedicure chair and that about sums up how I felt.

 

I have read a lot of reviewers of Epic aft cabins complain about the vibrations of the room and how your room shakes when pulling into and out of port.

 

It is a great view and the hallways has almost no traffic, but I would not book an Epic aft again.

[BabsinTX]

No noise from Deck 11 lower. Corner Aft-facing balconies on the Epic are double the size of the regular balcony cabins.

 

I agree. We were on Deck 12, corner aft balcony 12310, and we rarely heard anything from Spice H2O and the balcony was larger than the one next to us. Go for it!

[justcake]

I would never book one of these. We did a cabin crawl and the thrusters were being tested. The back end shook so loud that you couldn't understand what the person was saying next to you. Thought this was just a one-time occurrence but others staying there reported it anytime we entered or left a port.

 

This is the exact problem that we had with our aft balcony on the Epic. The view was amazing but I have never felt such shaking and vibration. I'm not sure how the rest of the ship is when the thrusters are on but the aft was pretty bad.

[towel-animal]

I agree. We were on Deck 12, corner aft balcony 12310, and we rarely heard anything from Spice H2O and the balcony was larger than the one next to us. Go for it!

 

Glad to hear it. I have this exact cabin booked on the 30th and was starting to worry after reading reviews of these cabins.

[DevCruise]

It's interesting that people are saying they didn't hear anything from Spice. It does seem that it matters how high your cabin is.

 

I think certain people are more sensitive to things than others. What bothers one person doesn't bother another and vice versa.

 

Who knows, maybe the ones who didn't hear anything were in Spice.... ;)

[KeithJenner]

I think certain people are more sensitive to things than others. What bothers one person doesn't bother another and vice versa.

 

Who knows, maybe the ones who didn't hear anything were in Spice.... ;)

 

It's certainly true that some people notice things when others don't, but the reports that some couldn't sleep even with earplugs, or that they can't hear what the the person next to them is saying whilst others say that it was really peaceful is quite an extreme example.

 

I imagine that the deck is quite key. It is quite possible that it's very loud on the top couple of decks but the sound just doesn't travel further down the ship.

 

Or, as you say, those who don't hear it are just not in their room at the time. Spice is not noisy during the day. As I like to sit on my balcony at night, it isn't a risk I would take.