First time Viking cruiser.. Question about the DV1 cabin that faces out the back of the ship.

[Sleep7]

👋Hello!

We just booked the Viking Sky and chose a cabin on deck 4  that is sandwiched between two suites at the very end of the ship where the balcony faces out the back.

Has anyone been in a cabin that faces out the back on a Viking ship?  Any advantages?  Any disadvantages?

Thanks for letting me know.😃

 

[zalusky]

I haven't had a wake cabin on Viking but I have had one on other cruise lines.  You don't get the wind and you get a very nice wake view which allows you to see both sides.  This can be a useful in places like Alaska inland passage where there might be interesting things on both sides.  This is from a Princess cruise leaving San Francisco.   I can let others speak to noise, elevators, etc.

 

[Azulann]

We had a aft Dv1 on 4th floor on July . Will have another one next week on the 5th fl on Viking Venus. 
love aft balconies. The views are the best. 
Being at the end of the hall , no traffic and very quiet. The walk to nearest elevators is a nice way to get exercise without even knowing it. 
the service from attendants  were  great . They also service the Explorer suite next door 

 

[n2chocola8]

I'm glad you asked this question. On paper it looks like those cabins have a shallow balcony. I'm wondering if that is true?

 

[slewis7]

We were in a deck 3 DV1 aft cabin on our last Viking cruise and we really enjoyed it.  The only disadvantages I can think of is perhaps a slightly longer walk to get to some ship locations and just that we found the DV cabin to be a bit cramped for storage space.  We would consider booking one of these again for shorter cruises.

[Sleep7]

Yay! This is why I love Cruise Critic! Ask a question and within minutes you get the friendliest and most knowledgeable answers.

Thank you Zalusky, Azulann, n2chocola8 and slewis for your help.😊

[zelker]

2 hours ago, n2chocola8 said:

I'm glad you asked this question. On paper it looks like those cabins have a shallow balcony. I'm wondering if that is true?

 

Wondering the same thing - are those aft-facing DV1 verandahs the same width/depth as the ones along each side?  Thanks!

[Azulann]

23 minutes ago, zelker said:

Wondering the same thing - are those aft-facing DV1 verandahs the same width/depth as the ones along each side?  Thanks!

They are the same size at all DV balconies. The cool Explorer suite next door wraps around the edge ship and is narrow in that area. But their aft balcony is awesome ! I peeked 😂

[Sleep7]

We just joked that we were the "poor neighbors" to the fancy suite peeps!😁

[WanderingBrit]

We were in one of the Deck 4 Explorer Suites in August, and the aft view is wonderful. It's very quiet and there's no wind at all. This shows you how deep the balcony is:

[Sleep7]

Oh that's perfect WanderingBrit! That picture really tells the story.

That really helps. Thanks!😊

[Senior Gators]

On 10/10/2021 at 5:44 PM, Azulann said:

They are the same size at all DV balconies. The cool Explorer suite next door wraps around the edge ship and is narrow in that area. But their aft balcony is awesome ! I peeked 😂

Azulann, 

 

If I didn't know better, I would have thought you were the one peeking in our Suite on our first cruise with Viking. It was on the Viking Star in 2015 and we stayed in the Starboard Explorer Suite on Deck 3. Great views from the stern.  The only problem we had was some soot from the stack on the balcony furniture.  The deck crew cleaned them daily, but then we had wet cushions for a good part of the day.

 

Senior Gators

[WanderingBrit]

On our week around Bermuda we experienced no soot, and no sloshing from the infinity pool. Seas were pretty calm and I don't think we ever exceeded 11 knots, but I did notice that the water level in the pool was lowered while underway, presumably to manage spillage on those below!

 

Yes, it is a hike to and from the stair well/elevator lobby, but no big deal. We never heard or felt anything from the propulsion systems under us, or from the cabins on either side.

 

More so than cabins on the side of the ship you may be slightly overlooked from balconies above when standing at the railing, simply because of the sloped rear. 

[Sleep7]

😊Thanks Senior Gators and Wandering Brit (again) for chiming in!

I will have to think what to do..

There are plenty of mid-ship cabins available if I changed my mind about the aft cabin.

Maybe better midship as DH could get a bit quesy if the weather is rough.

[shans]

We had one of the deck 4 cabins 3 weeks ago.  The floor on the balcony is definitely bigger, although maybe not where the rail is.  In the picture above, even thought it is the suite, look at the white posts. That is where the side cabin balconies would probably be.  When you stand outside because of the angled glass, if you stand at the rail, your feet would have more room, if that makes sense.  We have also just had a side cabin and the extra space on the aft cabin balcony is noticeable.  Yes, you will feel some more movement/vibration and the walk to the stairs/elevator is long, but in our opinion, the views leaving port are amazing and worth it!

Good luck making your decision.

[Sleep7]

Hi shans!

Funny you mention that the floor square footage of the balcony of the aft cabins looks larger than on the mid ship cabins.  And I do see that the railing does tilt in.

I wondered if you get a bit more space and you answered my question so thank you!

 

 

[Greylands]

How would travelers experienced with these aft DV1 cabins rate the sensation of motion at sea compared to a midship cabin? I don't get sea sick but have noticed the rocking/movement of the ship feels exaggerated at the extreme ends of the vessel and I'm wondering if anyone feels they can opine on the effect of this when sleeping in these aft cabins. 

[Heidi13]

4 hours ago, Greylands said:

How would travelers experienced with these aft DV1 cabins rate the sensation of motion at sea compared to a midship cabin? I don't get sea sick but have noticed the rocking/movement of the ship feels exaggerated at the extreme ends of the vessel and I'm wondering if anyone feels they can opine on the effect of this when sleeping in these aft cabins. 

 

On Viking ships, we haven't been in an aft facing DVI, but did experience a fwd suite for a couple of weeks.

 

Many, who have stayed in these cabins will advise they felt no movement. However, based on the science of ship's movement in a seaway, any cabin further fwd/aft, or higher will receive more movement than a lower deck midship's cabin, when the ship moves in a seaway.

 

I have had many cabins on the Bridge Deck, both fwd & aft and have never been affected by the ship's movement, even in extreme seas. DW, however, is affected by the motion and can only handle midships cabins on a lower deck. Even in the MDR, she prefers a fwd table, as aft tables experience more movement.

 

Therefore, the aft cabins will get more movement, but if not afftect by the motion, you should have no issues.

 

When ships are running full speed, aft cabins can also experience some vibration and prop noises. 

[Sleep7]

Hi Greylands!

I was the poster who started this thread about an aft DV1.  I wish I could add my 2 cents but we ended up changing cabins as we were offered a reduced price upgrade to a mid ship PV1.

So many others with great insight though so you are in good hands.👋

Good luck and happy sailing!

 

[LindaS272]

Smart move! Love the PVs and would not go back to a DV.🤗

[duquephart]

Love the PSs and would not go back to a PV.

[Sleep7]

47 minutes ago, LindaS272 said:

Smart move! Love the PVs and would not go back to a DV.🤗

Oh I agree 100% LIndaS272.  The extra space was truly delightful!

It was like a regular hotel rooms vs a cruise cabin.

I think that was a one and done though.. we were very lucky about a discounted upgrade for this particular cruise.

Ah well.. back to DV's I go!😊

[LindaS272]

2 hours ago, Sleep7 said:

Oh I agree 100% LIndaS272.  The extra space was truly delightful!

It was like a regular hotel rooms vs a cruise cabin.

I think that was a one and done though.. we were very lucky about a discounted upgrade for this particular cruise.

Ah well.. back to DV's I go!😊

But pre-Covid, our experience was that twice when booking DVs, they eventually offered upgrades to PVs. When booking now, we haven’t wanted to risk it, since everything is topsy turvy and you never know if you’ll be offered an upgrade.  DVs are supposed to be better now though with the ships that are adding drawers in the closet. Our first DV did not have those and we left a lot of things in our luggage under the bed. That was my main peeve with a DV.

[jmfdr]

27 minutes ago, LindaS272 said:

But pre-Covid, our experience was that twice when booking DVs, they eventually offered upgrades to PVs. When booking now, we haven’t wanted to risk it, since everything is topsy turvy and you never know if you’ll be offered an upgrade.  DVs are supposed to be better now though with the ships that are adding drawers in the closet. Our first DV did not have those and we left a lot of things in our luggage under the bed. That was my main peeve with a DV.

How do you find an upgrade offer from DV to PV?   We just booked a DV1 aft for a 2023 cruise but would trade it in an eye blink for a PV.

[LindaS272]

5 hours ago, jmfdr said:

How do you find an upgrade offer from DV to PV?   We just booked a DV1 aft for a 2023 cruise but would trade it in an eye blink for a PV.

You don’t exactly “find” it—Viking gives you a call (or an email) closer to the cruise embarkation when they’re moving rooms around. Maybe they’ve oversold rooms or the cruise is not selling as well as they’d like, so they start making offers to move people up a category and free up the lower level room for a new purchaser. One sales person onboard told us that 10% of cruisers cancel in the month or so before embarkation, so they have inventory to move. All of this was pre-Covid, of course, so who knows how they are operating now!