HAVE YOU EVER HAD A SUITE ON THE BACK OF THE SHIP???

[Chuck]

I was wondering if any of you world travelers have ever had a Suite on the "Back of the Ship"???   I have "always" cruised starboard side and always mid ship.  Recently we had a chance to Upgrade from a nice cabin to a suite but it was completely on the back of the ship.  Here are my 3 major concerns:  Will the 3 big Smokestacks spew diesel fumes onto the Verandah???  Diesel fumes literally make me sick.  2. Will the ride back there be quite "Bumpy" compared to Mid-Ship???  3. Is it worth the extra money???   Never traveled on the back of the ship ever before.  We've done about 15 cruises but my old partner who was a true world traveler always said mid ship starboard side and away from the elevators is the way to go.  Unfortunately he died so I can't call him for his advice anymore. 

[kazu]

5 minutes ago, Chuck said:

I was wondering if any of you world travelers have ever had a Suite on the "Back of the Ship"???   I have "always" cruised starboard side and always mid ship.  Recently we had a chance to Upgrade from a nice cabin to a suite but it was completely on the back of the ship.  Here are my 3 major concerns:  Will the 3 big Smokestacks spew diesel fumes onto the Verandah???  Diesel fumes literally make me sick.  2. Will the ride back there be quite "Bumpy" compared to Mid-Ship???  3. Is it worth the extra money???   Never traveled on the back of the ship ever before.  We've done about 15 cruises but my old partner who was a true world traveler always said mid ship starboard side and away from the elevators is the way to go.  Unfortunately he died so I can't call him for his advice anymore. 

 

Lots of people here are big fans of the aft suites and I am sure some of them will be posting.  They have big verandahs (as in huge) although the rooms can be a smidge smaller than the standard NS depending on the category.

 

We’ve only done an aft cabin once and DH didn’t like the vibration.  I do think you will feel more motion than mid ship but many say it is not a big deal.

 

The nice thing is that you can have a full view although you are looking at where you have been and not where you are going - LOL.

 

It might help if you let us know what ship and what the itinerary is too.

 

 

[RocketMan275]

Much prefer the aft suites, especially on the Vista Class where the balconies can be large enough to host a party for fifty.  Never had issues with smoke since most of these balconies can be fully covered.  It's a bit more bumpy but we feel the other advantages outweigh the ride.  But, please, continue to book midships 'cause that means more choices for us.

[Chuck]

Hello KAZU;  First of all "THANK YOU" for your speedy reply.  The ship is the Zuiderdam and the ship leaves out of Quebec City this coming Monday the 16th.  It stops thru out eastern Canada and then onto Boston and the last stop is New York City.  We have a cabin mid ship starboard side and was offered an "Upgrade" but Iam quite "hesitant" staying in a cabin that is "literally" on the back of the ship.  What about the "SmokeStack Fumes"????     Common sense tells me that it could be a "Potential Issue" and Iam very sensitive to those nasty fumes.  We like to sit out on the "Balcony" as thats part of the enjoyment of cruising.

[CruisingAndDiving]

7 minutes ago, Chuck said:

I was wondering if any of you world travelers have ever had a Suite on the "Back of the Ship"???   I have "always" cruised starboard side and always mid ship.  Recently we had a chance to Upgrade from a nice cabin to a suite but it was completely on the back of the ship.  Here are my 3 major concerns:  Will the 3 big Smokestacks spew diesel fumes onto the Verandah???  Diesel fumes literally make me sick.  2. Will the ride back there be quite "Bumpy" compared to Mid-Ship???  3. Is it worth the extra money???   Never traveled on the back of the ship ever before.  We've done about 15 cruises but my old partner who was a true world traveler always said mid ship starboard side and away from the elevators is the way to go.  Unfortunately he died so I can't call him for his advice anymore. 

 

Hi Chuck,

 

My wife and I actually prefer them!

 

We've not sailed in one on HA, so can't speak to the fumes questions.  There is definitely more motion in those cabins, so if that bothers you, you may wish to stay mid-ship.  Is it worth the money?  That's entirely a personal decision.  For us it would depend on how much more, just a couple of hundred, we probably would!  Your mileage may vary of course

 

Warren and Yvonne

[fatcat04]

We had one of those suites with the "balcony for 50." It was our 10th anniversary cruise. It was also our first inside passage Alaskan cruise. We were in a deck 5 aft wrap Neptune Suite on Zuiderdam. Completely covered which was nice for Alaska especially. The suite was a bit smaller but still a nice size. Only issue was it was far from the Neptune Lounge. Otherwise perfect. 

[cabinluvn]

We had an aft corner NS for a Panama Canal cruise and absolutely loved it. Deck 6. No smokestack fumes. Some vibration, but not enough to bother us while sleeping. Husband has motion sickness issues and the motion did not bother him. One nice thing about aft cabins is that you can sit out on the veranda while the ship is sailing with little to no wind. And you have incredible views. We try and get one when we can. Will be sailing in our 4th aft cabin in January

[pete_coach]

We have had a suite at the back of a ship. Ours was on deck 10. Big cabin, lots of room and a fabulous verandah.

There was movement especially in some so so weather in the Mediterranean. Quite uncomfortable for my Wife.

The other issue was we got soot on the verandah from the ships stacks. Every day we had to have the deck furniture cleaned before we could use it.

We had friends on deck 6 aft suite and while they did not have too much soot, they did feel vibrations form the engines and propellers.

[3rdGenCunarder]

1 hour ago, Chuck said:

Hello KAZU;  First of all "THANK YOU" for your speedy reply.  The ship is the Zuiderdam and the ship leaves out of Quebec City this coming Monday the 16th.  It stops thru out eastern Canada and then onto Boston and the last stop is New York City.  We have a cabin mid ship starboard side and was offered an "Upgrade" but Iam quite "hesitant" staying in a cabin that is "literally" on the back of the ship.  What about the "SmokeStack Fumes"????     Common sense tells me that it could be a "Potential Issue" and Iam very sensitive to those nasty fumes.  We like to sit out on the "Balcony" as thats part of the enjoyment of cruising.

 

GRAB IT WHILE YOU CAN!!!!!!!!!!!

 

The corner afts are fantastic.  BIg balcony, and the weather is still mild enough to get good use of it. You didn't say what cabin grade you had before, but the corner aft is a Neptune Suite, so you get access to the Neptune Lounge for snacks (but no free wine or booze). You get priority embarkation and tendering if any of your ports are tender ports. And free laundry, too. 

 

If the weather is rough, yes you'll get more motion, but only if it's really bad. I've been aft on Zuiderdam and two of the other Vista ships, on various decks, and never had vibration (K'dam yes, but not Zuiderdam) Never had soot or fume issues. The stacks are designed to vent upward. I'm sensitive to smells, too--my father used to say that I can smell a cigarette 100 yards away. And I have never had a fume smell issue anywhere on the ship. On the tenders, yes. Tenders can smell of diesel fuel. But never on the ship. 

Edited September 9, 2019 by 3rdGenCunarder

[boom_boom]

Yes, and loved the aft Neptune Suites...have one booked next month on the Eurodam.  It is a long walk to the Neptune Lounge, but the larger balcony makes it worth while. Have done this on Celebrity as well and loved them there too, Never had an issue with smoke, soot or smell. But, yes, there can be more motion if the seas get rough. Still, for us, the location is tops.

[Chuck]

Rather than giving everyone an individual thank you Iam giving everyone a "LIKE" click.  After reading the above posts we are going to just stay put where we are at. Which is Mid-Ship in a Signature Suite which is 294 square feet. 

[wwcruisers]

We were die-hard 'aft-ers' long before we ever considered cruising on HAL. So, it just made sense to book an aft-corner Neptune Suite for our first HAL cruise (K-dam, next September).  So far, the only down-side I've heard is that those particular cabins tend to have tiny showers and tubs -- but, I think we'll survive. Especially with that huge wrap-around balcony! 😎

[rkacruiser]

22 minutes ago, Chuck said:

Rather than giving everyone an individual thank you Iam giving everyone a "LIKE" click.  After reading the above posts we are going to just stay put where we are at. Which is Mid-Ship in a Signature Suite which is 294 square feet. 

 

I think you made a wise choice.  Signature Suites are very nice staterooms with the cabin itself being plenty big for two people and a very nice veranda with table and chairs along with loungers,

 

I did have an aft Neptune Suite on the Westerdam and enjoyed it.  But, while I didn't smell any fumes, soot was an issue.  At times, depending upon the sea/wind conditions, I noticed an odd corkscrew type motion that I never noticed anywhere else on the ship.  It wasn't bothersome, just unusual.  For a future booking, I would not purposely choose an aft suite or stateroom of any category,  

[mamaofami]

We are on the same cruise, and while we have booked non suite aft cabins many times, we chose a SS mid ship suite this time. Need to switch it up some times. Curious if you got a notice from HAL or your travel agent? Our TA is on a cruise herself, but even so unless it was a Neptune suite we are staying put.

Edited September 9, 2019 by mamaofami

[Vict0riann]

We had a Signature Suite on Zuiderdam and loved it.  A real treat (for us it was a surprise upgrade as we boarded)!

[PigsCanFly]

We were on the Noordam for an Alaska cruise last month.  We  had a corner aft suite and we loved it.  There was lots or room in the suite and the balcony was huge.  Costly, but worth it for us.  We have a sig suite on Zuiderdam in the spring for a Panama Canal trip.  

[3rdGenCunarder]

1 hour ago, PigsCanFly said:

We were on the Noordam for an Alaska cruise last month.  We  had a corner aft suite and we loved it.  There was lots or room in the suite and the balcony was huge.  Costly, but worth it for us.  We have a sig suite on Zuiderdam in the spring for a Panama Canal trip.  

 

It's wonderful for the canal. We had the huge deck 5 corner on Zuiderdam for the canal. This time, I'll be on a deck 6 corner.

[Aquahound]

I've had stern suites twice and I agree with most of what everyone else said.  They really are wonderful.  But ref your "fumes" comment....I never had a fumes problem but one time I did have a problem with soot raining down on the balcony.  If the wind is just right and the smoke from the stacks blows directly over your balcony, you could very well have soot.  In my case, it rendered the balcony unusable because we couldn't touch anything.  The room attendant had to bring in added crew to scrub it clean.  

[The-Inside-Cabin]

A few more considerations from our experience.

Much further to most everything.

Further from the Neptune lounge

More vibration from the screws during higher speeds.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Halfmoonfan]

1 hour ago, The-Inside-Cabin said:

A few more considerations from our experience.

Much further to most everything.

Further from the Neptune lounge

More vibration from the screws during higher speeds.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

We have not sailed HAL in a few years.  However we did sail in several aft suites in the past.  We very much enjoyed the huge deck.  We never had an issue with smoke or fumes.  Nor did we have pitching issue with the seas.  However, our trips were in the Med and Alaska, so maybe a crossing that may be an issue?

 

As for the distance from the Neptune Lounge, who cares?  The Neptune is a small, windowless room, with no bar and not great food.  Whereas the Lido is very close to the aft suites.  We got 100X more enjoyment on our aft suite deck that we ever got in the Neptune Lounge.

[Laminator]

12 minutes ago, Halfmoonfan said:

We have not sailed HAL in a few years.  However we did sail in several aft suites in the past.  We very much enjoyed the huge deck.  We never had an issue with smoke or fumes.  Nor did we have pitching issue with the seas.  However, our trips were in the Med and Alaska, so maybe a crossing that may be an issue?

 

As for the distance from the Neptune Lounge, who cares?  The Neptune is a small, windowless room, with no bar and not great food.  Whereas the Lido is very close to the aft suites.  We got 100X more enjoyment on our aft suite deck that we ever got in the Neptune Lounge.

I couldn't agree more. We've had several Pinnacle dinners on out aft wrap around including one for 8 friends. 

[tv24]

I'm going to be the cruiser who brings the bad news, sadly.  We sailed in a Neptune Suite (not the big corner suite) on the back of the Noordam.  We were excited about the views of the wake of the ship and we did not mind the very long hike to the Neptune Lounge.  HOWEVER, our verandah was coated with huge, huge amounts of soot everyday.  Our steward did his best to clean it once per day, but it was filthy within an hour of his departure.  When I sat in the sun, my body was coated with soot.  So except in ports, the verandah was not useable,  And it made me question the huge amount of pollution that the Noordam was spewing into the atmosphere.  Really filthy!

[winnifer]

1 hour ago, tv24 said:

I'm going to be the cruiser who brings the bad news, sadly.  We sailed in a Neptune Suite (not the big corner suite) on the back of the Noordam.  We were excited about the views of the wake of the ship and we did not mind the very long hike to the Neptune Lounge.  HOWEVER, our verandah was coated with huge, huge amounts of soot everyday.  Our steward did his best to clean it once per day, but it was filthy within an hour of his departure.  When I sat in the sun, my body was coated with soot.  So except in ports, the verandah was not useable,  And it made me question the huge amount of pollution that the Noordam was spewing into the atmosphere.  Really filthy!

 

Yikes! I'm curious - was your verandah covered or open?

[Krazy Kruizers]

We always stay in either a PS or Neptune Suite.  On HAL the PS cabins are forward of being mid ship on most ships or very far forward on the smaller ships (behind the officer's quarters).

 

For Neptune Suites, we stay mostly in the ones close to the Neptune Lounge on the Port side.

 

We do not care to stay on the back of the ship.  I know -- many people like those aft wrap around cabins.  Have visited a couple of them -- they are just not for us.  JMO

[tv24]

6 hours ago, winnifer said:

 

Yikes! I'm curious - was your verandah covered or open?

Most of it was open, thus the soot was able to land on it.