Help me pick On Pearl....aft or forward?

[newbie070708]

Can you tell me your opinions of the pros and cons of the aft facing penthouse versus forward facing penthouse on Norwegian Pearl? From what I’ve read, the balcony on aft facing is not very private and the cabins above you can look down and see you. Are the forward facing like that as well? 
Which would you choose?

[Loucat]

We were on Pearl for this past NYE. Had an aft penthouse on the port side. It was small; never used it and the attendant warned us the food from the Great Outdoors a deck above frequently was picked up by the wind and would land on the balcony.

Happened once- someone's ice cream cone took a dive and landed splat on our balcony. Glad we were not out there at the time.

I did not have an  issue with those above looking down into our balcony but again, it was not that inviting so we did not spend time out there.

We sailed on Sun in a forward facing penthouse and loved it. I liked to see where we were going. We spent a lot of time out there and enjoyed watching the crew pop out of hatches to hoist flags or manage lines. The view was great.

You do need to close your drapes at night so your room light does not impact vision from those on the bridge. Comparing the two, I preferred the forward facing penthouse. 

[VideoTech]

We absolutely love the forward facing penthouses on the Jewel class ships. Huge balcony, wonderful views, makes you feel like you're on your own private yacht. I like seeing where we're going instead of where we've been. Some people complain about the wind on the balcony when underway, but I've always found you could get out of the wind if you wanted. 

 

Both the forward and aft penthouses have some issues with people being able to look down into your balcony....and the bridge crew can see down into the set of forward balconies right below the bridge. If total privacy is your goal....well....take it indoors. Do note, though, that the entire balcony (forward or aft) is not visible from above.

 

You'll have people tell you that you cannot use the forward facing balconies at night. That is not true. You simply have to make sure that the lights from your cabin do not spill out onto the balcony while the ship is underway. Close your cabin curtains and keep the inner door closed. The bridge crew needs your balcony dark to help with their night vision.

 

Finally, if you go with the forward facing cabin, be very careful with the outer steel door. It's very heavy and the wind can catch it and slam it on you. Always latch it open when you're using the balcony.   

[Scott6428]

I really liked the aft balcony penthouse on the Jewel, sister ship to pearl.    did that in Alaska and sat out (with jacket) all the time.    I've done a forward facing suite on the sky a smaller older ship.  the wind did make it challenging and you are exposed but it's a larger, huger if I may balcony.   If your cruise has alot of sea days I'd go Aft, if you plan to hold parties on your balcony I'd go forward.

 

Hope that's of some help.